The Legend Of Spyro: A New Dawn
by Kendell
Summary: It's been 9 years since the Dark Master was defeated but a darkness is coming on the horizon. The new Year of the Dragon brings with it the dawn of a vengeful new enemy intent on tearing Spyro and Cynder's peaceful lives apart at the seams. Finished!
1. This Broken Soul

Hello everyone! This is my first full length Spyro fanfic! Before I continue, HUGE thanks to Sonic The Shapeshifter for being my Beta Reader for this and putting up with me. Anyway, this is a story I really wanted to do and I hope you enjoy it! Also, I know their was a Naga boss in the portable version of one of the games, I don't consider that canon and made my Naga before finding that out. Spyro belongs to...activision I believe now. Anyway, all things belong to their creators, enjoy!**

* * *

******

The Legend of Spyro: A New Dawn

**This Broken Soul**

_The young black dragon flailed, trying to get free from the chains suspending her body above the pit. She was only a child, but even she could tell what was about to be done to her…she was about to lose the last thing the Dark Master could take from her…her free will. A large hairy hand grabbed her face and forced it to look into its owners ancient, ape-like visage._

_Gaul smirked, his one remaining eye staring a hole through the young dragon, making her blood run cold. "Settle down, whelpling, this will all be over soon, then you will be the Dark Master's queen, it's an honor, you should show your gratitude," he stated. "Now, Cynder, prepare to be transformed," he said, stepping back as energy began to build below._

_Cynder could only look down in horror as darkness erupted from the Well of Souls into her form, washing away her own will and self and replacing it with rage and malice, causing her body to painfully chain and contort, growing unnaturally into an adult…_

* * *

Cynder shot awake, breathing heavily and looking around frantically in a panic before realizing she was in the same forest she, Spyro, and Sparx had stayed for the night. She and Spyro were now young adults, but the only real change that occurred was an increase in size, and even that wasn't much, enough to be noticeable, but not yet close to full size. If there was any noticeable change at all, it was Cynder's neck had gotten slightly longer. No surprise there though, as she already knew what her adult self was like.

Cynder settled her panicked breathing and relaxed, looking beside her at the sleeping purple dragon she'd taken as her mate…and the annoying, little, gold dragonfly sleeping on the other side of him. She didn't want to disturb him, so she carefully got up and walked over to a nearby cliff over looking their destination, the rebuilt dragon temple. "Hard to believe its been nine years already…" she said to herself, looking at the structure. It was near identical to the old one, only with minor changes-like the noticeably absent statues of Malefor. She sighed, looking down at her paws in uncertainty. "I know he's gone…why does he still scare me so much?" she asked, remembering the horrors that _monster_ had done to her. "Why now? It's been 9 years since we defeated him…maybe something is about to happen…something bad…" she muttered, then shook her head to clear it. "Don't talk like that, nothing is going to happen…" she told herself, determined to drive such thoughts from her mind. She then looked up at the sky, remembering the good times, not the bad. She then did something she rarely did…she started to sing, she almost never did…but sometimes it helped her get over the grief and depression her awful past occasionally inflicted on her…

"_O Holy Land, come ancient spirits_

_Take up my hand and guide me _

_Pull me to shore. Rivers are rising_

_Look in this heart and find me._

_I've lost my way, your voice is silent_

_I need you here to remind me_

_Show me now, how to find my way home_

_All I am Surrender_

_Let the water flow right through this broken soul_

_I'm by your side, ashes still burning_

_I proved my worth, so tell me why_

_I've lost my way, your voice is silent_

_I need you here, to remind me_

_Show me now, how to find my home_

_All I am Surrender_

_Tell me that you can forgive_

_Bring me peace that I may live_

_Show me now, how to find my home_

_All I am Surrender_

_Oh sweet rest, oh sweet rest_

_Find me at my home_

_Stay with me forever_

_Let the water flow right through this broken soul…"_ she sung, each verse helping to soothe just what the song spoke of, her broken soul. She then sensed something behind her and turned to see Spyro. "Oh…hey Spyro…sorry if I woke you…"

Spyro shook his head. "No, you're fine, Cynder," he said, approaching her. "I've just never heard you sing before…you've got a beautiful singing voice," he complimented, smiling.

Cynder would've blushed, if dragons were physically capable of it. "Thanks…I don't sing much…normally only when I'm alone and if I need to cheer myself up."

Spyro nodded, coming over and sitting next to her. He was concerned at what she'd said how she only sung to cheer herself up, but decided pushing that fact would do nothing but make her feel worse. "…Where did you learn that song?"

Cynder smiled, looking at the temple. "Ignitus taught it to me…one night at the temple he found me crying over…well you know…anyway. he taught me that song. He said while my spirit was broken with what Malefor and his monsters did to me, it wasn't beyond repair, all it'd take was time…and a little help from the Ancestors," she said, giving him a smirk. "And from you of course."

Spyro nodded, though he felt a pang of sadness from the memory of Ignitus, it still hurt him to remember the old dragon that had been like a father to him. Still, it also made him have some joy that Ignitus had done something like that for Cynder. He then decided to work his way into why Cynder was out here and awake already. "So…couldn't sleep?"

Cynder nodded. "Yeah…I had another nightmare…when Malefor corrupted me…" she said, looking down in fear and pain from the memory. "It's been 9 years since we saw him last, so why is this still bothering me so much?"

Spyro put a comforting paw on her back. "Cynder…" he said softly, getting her to look him in the eyes, letting him see what he almost always saw, a broken and tortured soul. Cynder had changed, in body and mind, she was much less guilt ridden now, but that pain and torment stayed in those green eyes of hers…that Hermit had spoke the truth, her eyes did give everything away. "I know how you feel, Malefor was too frightening not to give us nightmares, I've had nightmares of him too," he said, something he'd not told her. "But that's the past, Malefor is imprisoned in the core of the world, even if he got out somehow, he'd never make it back to the surface…he can't hurt us anymore," he said reassuringly.

Cynder smiled, seeing the sense in his words. Malefor was gigantic, but the tunnels that lead from the core back to the surface (the ones which Spyro and Cynder returned through) were very small-almost too small for even them to have used. The bigger passage ways were constantly full of lava and magma, thus they couldn't be used-even Malefor had to breathe on occasion. "Thanks Spyro…" she said, then looked up at the stars, smiling. "I love the stars…they're so beautiful…and they remind me of one thing…as much darkness that's in me…there will always be good to light it."

Spyro nodded. "And hope to chase it away…" he finished, then, enjoying the slightly romantic moment, the two leaned in for a nuzzle…

"Hey! Why'd you leave me alone back there?" yelled Sparx, the little yellow dragonfly flying up and ruining the moment, getting glares from both dragons. "What'd I do?"

Spyro sighed. "Nothing Sparx, sorry, we just needed some fresh air."

"Oh, I get it, the two love birds wanted some alone time," said Sparx, mockingly before making kissy faces, causing Cynder to swat him lightly into a bush with the broad side of her tail blade.

Spyro couldn't help laughing at that. "You can't say you didn't ask for that one, Sparx."

Sparx groaned, pulling his tiny frame out of the bush. "Yeah, I've got to stop forgetting little miss Cynder has no sense of humor," he complained.

Cynder growled, then noticed a mud puddle next to her. She used her tail blade to throw a large clump of it on Sparx, completely covering the little dragonfly. "No sense of humor, huh?" asked Cynder, laughing. Yeah, she could be depressed sometimes, but she liked jokes as much as the next dragon.

Spyro nodded, laughing as an angry Sparx mumbled something under his breath before looking to see the sun beginning to rise. "Well, looks like we're not getting back to sleep, let's just get going."

Cynder nodded. "Better hurry Sparx, you know what they say, the early bird gets the worm, I'm sure that bird would love a nice juicy dragonfly," she mocked, turning and taking off towards the temple.

Sparx cleaned himself off and looked around, then to Spyro. "She's joking right?" he asked, Spyro merely rolling his eyes and following Cynder. "She's not serious…" he said, then heard a loud caw of a bird and screamed. "Wait for me!" he yelled, taking off after them.

* * *

What neither noticed was a pair of snake-like eyes watching from a mountain cave nearby. The creature they belonged to was large and blue skinned, its lower body like a snakes, but its upper body more humanoid, complete with arms and a more humanoid face structure, but the snake-like traits showed in the mouth, fangs extending, and the serpent-like eyes. He wore blue armor over his chest and arms, a gladiator-like helmet on his head, a broadsword in hand. The creature turned to the darkness behind him. "Mistress, they're heading for the temple as we speak," reported the creature, bowing.

Six eyes watched from the darkness, each one more dragon-like than the other entity; one pair to the right was a fiery red, the middle pair light blue, and the final pair on the left, vibrant yellow. The red eyes seemed to be in a permanent glare, the blue showed an intelligence and cunning, and the yellow eyes seemed in a constant state of glee.

"Good, all is going according to plan," stated a cold and collected, female voice from the blue eyes.

"I still say we should strike now and kill those two and have our vengeance!" announced a cruel and enraged voice from the red eyed entity, though like the first, it too was feminine.

"Oh its always 'blow it up!' with you! Why can't you just take time to smell the roses?" asked a hyper, fast, but happy voice from the yellow eyes, like the other two, this one was also a female.

"I'm allergic," muttered the red eyes again, clearly annoyed.

"Will you two be quiet!" chastised the blue eyed entity, settling the two. "We will continue with the plan, Spyro and Cynder will pay, and we will finally have what we deserve!"

"Agreed, oh and I loved what you did with her nightmares! I just love it when you screw with people's heads!" said the yellow eyes, laughing hysterically.

"As do I, but be it as it may, we've still got some preparations to complete before we launch our plan…"


	2. New Life

Hey everyone! Time for the new chapter! Today we introduce one of the driving forces of the plot and the third main character. I'm sure one of you will guess! And thanks to Sonic the Shapeshifter for his beta reading and everyone who has reviewed!**

* * *

******

New Life

Terrador entered the nursery area of the temple, looking over the eggs from this Year of the Dragon's first clutch. It was smaller than years past, due to the Dragon population being so small compared to before the war reached its awful peak. He smiled, walking carefully through the nursery, imagining seeing hatchling dragons, a sight it'd been over 24 years since he'd seen last…he then frowned, remembering why, the thoughts of that traumatic night reoccurring in the present creeping their way in. He took a deep breath to drive that thought from his mind. "May the Ancestors watch over you all…they know none of us could bare to relive that night…" he said to the eggs, praying they'd all hatch safely.

Nearby, Cyril had the same idea and he too walked among the nursery, though for him, it was counting all the eggs that appeared to be Ice Dragons. Cyril was naturally a bit…biased towards his own kind. This was known by the other Guardians and accepted-they all accepted, to an extent, one another's faults. Cyril continued walking and examining eggs until he found himself staring at one of the statues of Ignitus that had been given a place of honor in the temple, in recognition of his noble sacrifice. He gave a sigh, remembering their fallen comrade. "I do wish you'd lived to see this day, Ignitus…" he muttered to himself.

Terrador walked up next to him, having taken notice of Cyril's statement. "As do I Cyril…as do I…" He sighed as well, staring up at the magnificent statue. Terrador had taken Ignitus' place as the leader of the Guardians, but felt he couldn't ever really replace Ignitus no matter how strong a leader he was.

Cyril nodded solemnly. "I think of the four of us, Ignitus blamed himself the most for that terrible night…guarding another clutch of eggs to their hatching would've been good for him…"

Terrador nodded in a thoughtful manner. "All we can do is hope he's watching over and guarding them with the Ancestors," he stated. "…Still, it's hard not to miss him, we've defended this temple most of our lives along side him…"

Volteer joined them soon enough, listening in on the conversation. "I too can't help but reminiscence about the years we spent with Ignitus as our compatriot and friend, it is most unfortunate and saddening he was unable to witness the new Year of the Dragon, he always adored this occasion so much," he said, speaking a mile a minute. "It's particularly despondent that he should miss our symbol of appreciation to Spyro and Cynder for their timely salvation of the world," he continued, turning his gaze to a black egg sitting on a pedestal by itself, one of the statues of Ignitus standing over it, almost protectively.

"As much as it pains me to say it, something sensible finally came out of that motor mouth of yours, Volteer," said Cyril, agreeing with Volteer.

Terrador nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's a sad fact indeed…" he said, walking over to the egg. "Spyro was like a son to him, after all…"

Volteer nodded, looking out the window to see Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx coming down at the temple entrance. "And it seems they're here."

Terrador nodded. He lowered his head close to the egg. "Well, it looks like you're going to get your family now…" he reassured it. It wasn't uncommon at all for the Guardians to speak to the unborn Dragons to get them used to their voices before the eggs hatched.

* * *

Spyro and Cynder landed in front of the entrance, Sparx hovering between them. "Ah, the dragon temple, good times," said Sparx. "Well not this temple, but the old one that fell into a volcano, had some good times there," he stated, Spyro and Cynder nodding in agreement. "Hey!" he yelled, looking at statues of Spyro, Cynder, and Ignitus that had been built at the temple, in recognition of the role each played in the world's salvation. "What? No statue of me? I helped too!"

Cynder sighed, shaking her head. "And I thought Cyril had an ego."

Spyro chuckled at that, his adoptive brother could be annoying and he had an ego at times. He then slowly looked to the statue of Ignitus, a sad look replacing his smile as he remembered what had happened back in the Ring of Fire…when Ignitus gave his life for theirs. He still missed the Fire Guardian a lot, yeah, he had his dragonfly foster parents…but Ignitus was like a father to him to. He shook himself out of it and looked to Cynder, noticing she looked a little nervous. "What's wrong?"

Cynder would've blushed if she'd been able to, looking at one of her statues. "Just a little…embarrassed," she said. "It's just…did they really need this many statues of us?" she asked, not used to excessive praise.

"Wait, I don't get any statues at all and you're complaining you've got _too many_? Lady, you've got problems," said Sparx, rolling his eyes.

Spyro chuckled a little. "Cynder, you helped me save the world, they're just grateful."

Cynder looked down timidly, this wasn't something the Black Dragon was used to. "I know…I'm just not used to being a hero, even after all these years…" she explained. "I mean, yeah, people thank us all the time, that's one thing, having a bunch of statues in my honor is a tad…excessive is all," she explained, looking at the statues of her and Spyro lining the temple entrance.

Spyro chuckled. "Cynder, you earned this," he said, giving her a nuzzle. "I couldn't have done it with out you, we both know that,"

Cynder nuzzled him back, then smiled to him. Spyro always knew what to say. It's times like that she knew they were meant for each other. "Well…not like I had a choice, I was tied to you the whole time," she joked, trying to lighten the mood for both their sakes. She was still embarrassed at the number of statues, but it wasn't a big deal.

"Helped _you _save the world? You couldn't have done it without her?" asked Sparx, looking kind of mad. "What? You act like all I did was float next to your head the entire time!" he said, getting a stare from Spyro and Cynder. "Oh yeah…" he muttered, remembering he had done exactly that. "But I knocked out that annoying parrot!"

"Ugh, that guy?" asked Cynder, disgusted, remembering Scratch and Sniff, Skabb's two annoying parrots back on that Pirate ship. "Those annoying birds nearly drove me insane. I don't know what was worse, having to fight in that nasty, dirty arena to the death or listening to the purple one yell insults the entire time and the red one calling me the 'Former Queen of Conquer'," she stated, clearly hating that nickname, mainly because it sounded just stupid. "Thank you for punching one of those little annoyances out cold," she admitted, causing Sparx to get a proud look at the praise, almost making her take it back.

Spyro chuckled. "Alright, that's enough, the Guardians are waiting for us,"

Cynder nodded, slowly looking at the temple entrance, walking in with Spyro. "Wow…not much has changed, has it?" she asked, looking around the main hall.

"Yeah, except it's less broken," said Sparx, floating around.

Spyro chuckled, finding that observation comical. "Well it is brand new, probably had some help from the Moles," he said, looking around at the new temple. It was breathtaking to see it without vines and battle damage, but otherwise, it was identical to the old temple (well, other than the statues).

Cynder nodded, looking at the statues again, getting a little embarrassed again that they'd made so many statues of them. "Yeah, that's true," she stated, looking to Spyro. "Still, it is impressive, looks much better than Malefor's corrupted version," she said, shuttering at the thought of that monster. She then looked to one of Ignitus' statues, noticing Spyro was looking at it sadly. "…You still miss him, don't you?" she said, sympathetically.

Spyro nodded slowly, remembering Ignitus' sacrifice. "Even after all this time, I miss him so much…" he said, lowering his head.

Cynder nodded, putting her paw on his back to comfort him. "I know how you feel…" she said, remembering Ignitus, he was the first dragon to forgive her for her past…he'd been so kind, despite everything she'd done…she might've ended up much worse without him. "He's a real hero…"

Spyro nodded, but then heard a door open nearby as Terrador entered the chamber, which put a smile on his face real quick. "Terrador! Long time no see!"

Terrador smiled back. "Hello, young dragons," he said, glad to see them again. "And dragonfly," he continued, not wanting another rant from Sparx.

"Finally someone remembers to recognize the little guy!" said Sparx, smiling. "I was starting to think I'd have to go visit the llama people just to get noticed again!"

Terrador turned his attention back to Spyro and Cynder. "It's good to see you again, you've gotten bigger since I last saw you."

Cynder and Spyro both smiled up to the larger adult. "We haven't gotten that much bigger, Terrador," said Cynder, a little embarrassed at his comment. "But thanks for noticing."

Spyro nodded in agreement. "You haven't changed much since last time, Terrador, I'm glad. It's good to see not much has changed."

Terrador gave a nod, agreeing that must be comforting. "True, this is your first time here since it was rebuilt. May I ask why?"

Cynder looked down, showing shame. "Spyro wanted to…but every time we got close…I well…"

"She chickened out," said Sparx bluntly, earning himself a snarl from Cynder. As expected, he screamed and hid behind Spyro's head.

Cynder then gave a sigh. "He's right…I…I kept feeling like I didn't belong here…that it wasn't right for me to come to such a holy place…"

Terrador gave her an understanding smile. "Young one, no one holds your past against you any longer," he said. "It wasn't your fault, and you did help fight Malefor. This temple and the world stand because of you and Spyro. If anyone deserves to be here, it's you."

Cynder gave a small smile. "Thanks Terrador…but its not just that…it's the darkness he left in me…" she said, looking at her black scales with hatred.

"Cynder, you're not the one that Malefor infused with his darkness…but that doesn't mean you or me are unworthy to be here," said Spyro, remembering the evil half that he'd gained on the Night of Eternal Darkness, Dark Spyro. "That's just a part of us, but it's not who we are…we proved that by beating Malefor."

Cynder slowly nodded, understanding the point. "But…it's also why we didn't have eggs this year…we wanted to but…" she started, looking to Terrador. "We were afraid of what the darkness inside us would do to a child of ours."

Terrador smiled reassuringly. "Young dragons, you don't need to worry about that, come with me," he said, leading the way to the nursery.

* * *

As the three followed Terrador to the nursery, they looked over the eggs in amazement. "Wow…so that's what dragon eggs look like…" said Spyro, having never seen them before.

Cynder nodded, amazed herself. "I didn't think there'd be so many…"

Terrador nodded with a small chuckle, finding the younger dragons' amazement enjoyable, as was watching little Sparx dart around the eggs, looking them over as well. "Dragons can have a large number of eggs at a time, depending on size. While a dragon Cynder's size would be able to nest this year, she'd probably only have one or two eggs, where a full grown dragon would have a larger group."

Cynder listened, but looked uneasy. "Well, I guess that'll help us…repopulate," she said, finding that conversation kind of awkward and hoping it'd not go further. She was still young, and her mind was three years behind her body, thanks to the time they'd been hibernating in the Time Crystal.

"Why hello Spyro, Cynder, it's good to see you again," Cyril said, walking over with a smile.

Spyro and Cynder both gave the Ice Guardian a smile, glad to see him. "It's good to be back, Cyril," said Cynder. "Were you waiting here for us?"

"No, Cyril was busying himself adding up the total number of eggs demonstrating promise of becoming Ice Dragons, you know how egotistical Cyril can be," said Volteer, joining them as well.

"Well I was counting the Ice eggs, but not for my ego!" countered Cyril, though rather defensively. "I merely wanted to see how many dragons I'll be teaching the fine art of ice, well and Spyro too, if he's so inclined."

Spyro chuckled. "Of course, Cyril, I'd be happy to help teach the new dragons, but Terrador said he had something else to show us?"

Terrador nodded. "Yes, I do, Spyro, Cynder," he said, leading them towards a pedestal nearby. "Cynder, where do you think your coloration came from?"

Cynder blinked slightly, confused by the question. "Well from Malefor's darkness, it made sense in my head at least."

Terrador shook his head. "Well you're wrong, young dragon," he said, giving a kind smile. "The coloration of your egg was as black as your scales," he explained. "You've said you have memories of your life before you were corrupted, do you ever remember yourself being another color?"

Cynder thought back, trying to remember, she then recalled her nightmare from earlier that day, remembering she had been black before Malefor's darkness had been infused with her, the memory causing her to gasp. "I…I don't…I was black before he corrupted me…" she said, startled. However, that thought did make her happy to some degree. "So…I'm supposed to be black dragon?"

Volteer nodded. "Correct, your scale pigmentation, even if the Dark Master had not infused with his negative energies, would've been as black as night regardless, its quite fascinating as never before you had their been such a dragon prior, you are in fact the prime member of your particular variation of our species," he explained, going so fast it was hard to keep up.

"Uh…what did he just say?" asked Sparx, confused.

"I think he said that Cynder was the first black dragon and would've been even if she'd never been Malefor's slave," explained Spyro, somewhat confused as well.

"So why can't he ever just come out and say it?"

"Wait, so I'm the first black dragon? How is that possible?" asked Cynder, dumbfounded as to how that could happen. "I mean I know the Purple Dragons just popped up with Malefor, but…"

"Well it's quite simple, Cynder," said Volteer. "Over generations genes drift and alternate, causing mutations in the genetic material containing the blueprints for our very being, thus as a result, unforeseen effects can occur, for instance there have been albino dragons whose skin lack pigment of any kind due to a genetic alte-"

"Volteer! Please! They're confused enough without your nonstop babbling," interrupted Cyril. "What this motor mouth means is that species change overtime, and simply put, Cynder's breed finally emerged as a result of this."

Cynder slowly nodded, understanding…kind of. "Ok, while its comforting to know this is my natural scale color, why do you bring it up now? Why wasn't I told 12 years ago?"

"Well Cynder, it never really came up," said Cyril. "There were more pressing matters, like helping you cope with the troubled past being under Malefor's thumb presented to you, or saving the world. Your color was something we figured you already knew."

Terrador nodded. "And Cynder, there's another reason, while you're the first black dragon, you're soon not to be the only one," he said, stepping out of the way to show the black egg the Guardians had been examining previously.

Cynder gasped, looking over the black egg in shock and surprise. "Y-you mean there's going to be another black dragon?" she asked, walking up to it and looking the egg over closely. Something just felt…good about it, a kinship she'd not felt before…even with Spyro, or rather a different type…it was hard to explain…

Spyro was shocked as well, then look to the Guardians. "So…what can a natural black dragon do?"

"Well we honestly do not know," said Cyril. "Since Cynder was the first and was corrupted by Malefor, we have no way of knowing."

"But we can speculate that perhaps one of the elements she now possesses was likely her original one," said Volteer. "Since she has not developed a secondary type of power after being restored to her natural age, we can only assume that ether her natural elemental abilities were completely supplemented by the ones obtained in her corruption or that one of them is in fact her natural one. After all, the simple fact Malefor discovered those four elements does not make them inheritably nefarious in nature."

"Volteer is correct," agreed Terrador. "Malefor may have developed Wind, Poison, Fear, and Shadow, but he did so before his fall to evil."

Cynder wasn't listening, she was focused on the little egg, something in her seemed to instruct her to slowly stroke the top of it with her paw in a motherly fashion. Doing that felt good for some reason, natural. "So…you want us to raise it?" she asked, having gotten that much from Terrador's previous words. She found herself hoping that was the case…she couldn't explain it, but she already felt like this little egg was hers; it was something she'd never experienced before. Perhaps it was the realization she wasn't alone in the world as the only black dragon and finally had another member of her species to care about that was causing her to bond so quickly.

"Well it's only natural," said Cyril "This egg's parents will be unable to care for the hatchling once it's born, so they put it up for adoption."

"And we thought of you, of course," said Volteer. "Cynder is the only other dragon of this one's kind to ever be born, and as for Spyro, well if a child isn't proud to have him for a father, I don't think they could be proud of anything."

Spyro looked to Cynder, seeing her already having grown attached to the little egg, a maternal instinct having surfaced within her. "Cynder…its your choice, we did want to have a child, we just…well, you know…so what do you think?"

Cynder gave the egg a motherly nuzzle, then looked to Spyro with a nod. "Let's do it…thank you," she said, smiling and nuzzling him, getting a nuzzle in return.

"Hey! I'm going to be its uncle, won't I?" asked Sparx, getting kind of excited. "I am your brother after all, Spyro."

Spyro smiled to Sparx. "Well adopted brother, but yeah, I'm sure you'll make a great uncle, Sparx." He looked at the small egg, smiling. He allowed himself to began feeling the same way Cynder did, at least to an extant. He wasn't a Black Dragon, so he couldn't feel the same kinship as she did. Still, the fact was he now knew this egg was his child, not biologically of a course but that didn't matter. He still considered Nina and Flash his real family and they were dragonflies, so blood relation had never mattered to him. As far as he was concerned, this child was his and he'd love it like one.

Sparx shrugged. "You're adopting it to, so no big deal there," he said, floating around the egg. "So, any name ideas?"

Spyro blinked in confusion, the realization of what this choice entails finally hitting him. "Name ideas? We don't even know if it'll be a boy or a girl, or what element it'll have, or what it'll look like other than color," he said, contemplating all these things. There was a lot for a new parent to think about after all.

"Well there will be time for all that, you two," said Cyril. "After the eggs hatch, remember, for the time being, we still have to guard all these eggs."

Cynder nodded. "Of course," she replied, tearing herself away from her adopted child, which was surprisingly hard for her to do. "That is one of the reasons we came here after all."

"And there's another reason as well," said Terrador, giving a smile, they had one more big surprise for the two.

"Yes, I almost forgot, we have another surprise for you," explained Cyril. "Ok! You can come out now!" he called.

Spyro and Cynder looked to one another in confusion before another dragon their size and age came running from nearby room, sliding to a stop in front of them. Her skin was a bright pink, except for her belly, which was white or cream colored, her eyes blue, and the webbed spikes that were on her back a purple color. She also had backwards pointing yellow horns that curved slightly upwards. Her defining traits, however, were the fact her tail tip was shaped like a heart, the point of which pointing out, and that she had a gold necklace with a pink heart shaped jewel.

It would seem this girl had a thing for hearts…

* * *

Yep, it's Ember! My version anyway. And I'm not going the way a lot of people use her, you'll see. Anyway, see you next time!


	3. The Pink Dragoness

New chapter! Today we meet Ember in more detail. My version is different than most mainly due to her interaction with Cynder, which is different than how most do it. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**The Pink Dragoness**

The little pink dragoness looked at them, tail swaying slowly behind her, a smile wide on her face. "Hi!" she said, her voice sweet and somewhat cute, though not extremely girly. "It's so amazing to finally meet you! Oh I've dreamed of this day!" she said, her voice indeed quite dreamy for that part…though said statement seemed directed more to Spyro than Cynder.

Spyro and Cynder both let out a small yell of surprise at the sudden arrival of this new dragoness. "Huh? Who are you?" asked Cynder, confused, and somewhat irritated by how she spoke to Spyro so dreamily. But she tried not to show it, she may have just misunderstood . Likewise, Spyro seemed a tad uncomfortable with her tone.

"Spyro, Cynder, this is Ember," introduced Cyril, referring to the pink female. "She's your age," he explained. Normally this would be a strange thing to state, but quite clearly, given circumstances, this was shocking.

Spyro and Cynder both looked at each other, then to Ember, absolutely stunned. "B-but how?" asked Spyro, very confused at how this was possible. "I thought our eggs were the only ones from our Year of the Dragon to have survived!"

"Yeah, if I remember right, Ignitus said all the other eggs went splat," said Sparx, in his normal manner of speaking. "So how is pinky here alive if she's their age?"

Ember smiled sweetly in response. "Oh, my egg wasn't at the temple," she said, pointing to herself with her paw. "I was laid a little late, so my egg was on its way to the temple when the attack happened. My dad told my mom to take my egg and hide out far away until she got word it was safe. Then he went to fight in the war," she explained, and then looked a little sad. "…We lost contact with him when I was just a little girl…so we stayed out there…a really long time…" she said, looking depressed. It was clearly sad for her father to disappear like that.

Cynder gave Ember a sympathetic look. "Ember…I'm sorry about your father…but at least you have your mother. Me and Spyro don't even know our biological parents…"

Ember smiled. "Thanks Cynder…" It was strange, she'd heard all these war stories her father sent them when he was still in contact, and Cynder had been this terrible monster…now here the same dragon was being nice to her, ironic. "Anyway, this nice cheetah came along looking for surviving dragons. He told us the war was over, so we came back…that was about…three weeks ago."

Spyro's jaw dropped. "So you and your mother stayed out in the wilderness for over 24 years?" he asked, that was rather impressive. Sure, he'd stayed 12 years with the dragonflies, but that wasn't really 'wilderness'.

Ember giggled. "Yeah, Spyro, it was actually pretty fun," she said. "Ever seen a sunrise from the top of a canyon?" she asked, getting her face close to him. "It's kind of…romantic," she said, sounding a little flirtatious.

"Uh no, no I haven't…" replied Spyro, uncomfortably scouting away from her a little. Did she not know he and Cynder were already mates?

Cynder snarled, she wasn't liking this. That little pink flirt had better back off. Then again, she didn't know much about Ember. Maybe she was always like this and didn't mean much harm. Plus, most people didn't treat her well the first time they met, so she didn't want to ruin it. She stifled her temper and tried to ignore it for the moment. "So, Ember…what are you doing here at the Temple?" she asked, trying to change the subject and keep things civil.

Ember turned to her and smiled. "Well, I'm the next Fire Guardian," she replied. Despite her apparent interest in Spyro, she didn't show animosity towards Cynder. In fact, she even seemed to look up to Cynder. It was more like she was simply oblivious to the fact they were mates.

Spyro and Cynder both looked shocked at this. "You? No offense…but aren't you a little young?" asked Spyro, trying to avoid offending her.

"Actually, no," said Terrador. "New dragons from your Year of the Dragon were intended to be all of our successors."

"As you know, we're not getting any younger, we're all actually past the age for Dragon Guardians to retire. We were supposed to become Elders, giving our roles to a new generation," explained Cyril. "Your Year of the Dragon was meant to be the group from which we chose who we'd pass the torch to and raise as our successors, but sadly, as you know, none of our types of dragons survived that year. That and given the war, changing the guard to any younger dragons would've been rather…ill-advised if at all possible."

"So, being the sole surviving Fire Dragon of your Year, it is Ember's birthright to become the new Fire Guardian and succeed Ignitus," explained Terrador. "Spyro is the only other dragon from your Year with fire abilities, but he's the Purple Dragon. His role is far greater than the Guardians."

"Wow…congratulations Ember," said Cynder, not sure what else to say. "That's quite the honor, isn't it?"

Ember nodded, a little embarrassed at the compliment. "Yeah, it is…and a bit of a shock to be honest. I was only here a few weeks when they told me about it," she explained. "Still a bit hard to believe honestly, but I'm trying my best! I'm actually getting quite strong…"

Spyro nodded. "Believe me, I know how big of a shock it can be to find out you're meant to be something great," he explained, remembering back to when he and Ignitus met. "When I met Ignitus for the first time, I didn't even know I was a dragon, let alone a Legendary Purple Dragon."

Ember nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I heard that," she replied, then cocked her head. "But no one ever told me why. I just know you didn't know you were one."

"Well, I…" started Spyro, a little embarrassed. He wasn't embarrassed about his Dragonfly family, he loved them all very much. It was more the fact he'd somehow never realized he wasn't one, despite being much larger, purple, and having scales…and legs.

"He thought he was a Dragonfly," said Sparx, jokingly. Even he, now that he knew, found it a little ridiculous that Spyro (and everyone else back then) had mistaken the little dragon for a Dragonfly.

"Oh and you didn't?" retorted Spyro, insulted by how his 'brother' said it. He then looked to Ember. "Yeah, I did…I was found as an egg by Sparx's parents and raised as a Dragonfly. I'd never seen another dragon before, so I never realized that I was one, and no one else that actually knew it mentioned it."

Ember couldn't help but chuckle. "It is a bit silly. You don't look anything like a Dragonfly," she said, smiling.

Cynder nodded with a well meaning chuckle of her own, but then decided to help her mate out just a bit. "Well, Spyro isn't alone. Technically speaking, I was raised by the Apes…if you call what they did to me raising," she said, disgusted at the memories she had of that awful time.

Ember shuddered. "I can't imagine what they did to you. No offense, but considering what I'd heard about you, it's certainly…nasty to think what happened to make you into that monster you used to be…" she said, trying to be respectful to her. "But thank the Ancestors Spyro was there to free you," she said, once again showing the dreamy tone of voice when directing a comment to Spyro, getting close to him. This caused him to move away a little, still very uncomfortable with it..

Cynder subdued a snarl at that statement, she seriously wished Ember would stop it already. Still, at least Ember understood that Cynder had been through a great deal of pain and suffering. Cynder appreciated that. "Glad you understand, and you're right, it was lucky Spyro saved me," she said, giving her mate a nuzzle, getting one back. She couldn't help smirking as Ember got a little flustered herself at this show of affection.

Terrador could see Ember's flirting had gotten under Cynder's scales and decided a change in subject would probably be helpful. "Ember, I'm sure Spyro and Cynder would like to tour the temple, why don't you show them around?"

Ember nodded cheerfully, snapping back to her normal state. "Of course, Terrador! I'd be happy to!" she said. "Come on, a lot has changed from the old temple!" she said, bounding off.

Sparx looked to Spyro and Cynder. "Excitable, isn't she?" he asked, getting nods from both.

* * *

"And this is the new training room," said Ember, leading them in. It was pretty much identical to the last one, only the statue of Malefor was now replaced with one of Ignitus. "They chose Ignitus because he was your teacher, Spyro," she explained, treating the subject seriously. She knew how much Ignitus meant to Spyro.

Spyro stared up at the huge statue, slowly getting a small smile. "…He deserves it."

"There is that…" said Sparx, respecting Spyro's admiration to Ignitus. "But where's my statue!" he said, still angry about that.

Cynder sighed. "All you did was float next to Spyro's head the whole time."

"Yeah…but I nearly died as often as he did!" Sparx retorted. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to do that!" he replied. "You nearly killed me like 30 times."

Cynder snarled. With Ember's flittering getting under scales, she was too stressed to deal with Sparx's insults this time. "Well sorry! I'll try to remember that next time I get possessed by an evil psychopath," she replied, still sensitive about it.

"Yeah well…you tried to eat me!" yelled back Sparx, not used to actually having to come up with counter insults.

Cynder gave a low growl in response "Why you little-"

"Uh…hey Ember! Why don't you show us where we can get some food?" asked Spyro, knowing if he didn't interrupt Cynder and Sparx before it got out of hand, he'd regret it. "We haven't had breakfast yet."

Ember nodded. "Sure, Spyro!" she said, eager to try and impress him. "Follow me!" she said, running off towards the cafeteria.

Cynder growled at Sparx and followed. "Thanks…" said Sparx to Spyro, glad Cynder wasn't going to hurt him...this time.

"I just didn't want another fight, you really need to lay off," said Spyro. "Cynder is our friend, and whether you're trying or not, those insults really hurt her," he said, before following Cynder and Ember. Sparx just shrugged and followed towards their rooms.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Spyro, you too Sparx," said Cynder, embarrassed. The threesome were in their room after nightfall. The rest of the day had been relatively uneventful, except the pair returning to the egg room to check on their adopted child several times and Cynder getting in a few more arguments with Sparx and even a few other dragons. "I don't know why I'm getting so aggressive today. It might just be how Ember is acting and I just snapped…I just feel so off for some reason."

"Its ok, Cynder," said Spyro. "It was awkward for me too, having her hit on me…" he said. "But that is a little strange, you're normally a lot calmer."

"It's dragon mating season, of course Cynder is cranky," said Sparx, staying as far away from Cynder as he could at the moment.

"What are you talking about?" asked Cynder, confused. What did that little dragonfly mean? Was that an insult or something?

"Uh…dad said something about mom getting a bit easier to tick off during mating season," explained Sparx, not really wanting to talk about it. "Go ask motor mouth, he'd know better than me."

"That makes a bit of sense," Cynder admitted. After all, dragons only reproduced once every twelve years and this was the first Year of the Dragon she was herself for. "I was going to go check on the egg anyway, I'll talk to Volteer while I'm at it. Thanks Sparx…and sorry for snapping at you, stressful day, you know?"

"No big, I know Pinky is getting on your nerves," said Sparx, trying to be a bit nicer so not to set her off.

Cynder gave a sigh. "You don't know the half of it," she replied, walking out of the room.

Spyro tried to follow, but Sparx cut him off. "Dude, stay," he said. "Odds are it's going to be some chick thing that neither of us really want to hear and little miss darkness won't want us to hear. And the way she is right now, do you really want to risk ticking her off?"

Spyro was about to retort when he realized that made sense. "Alright, Sparx…why do you know so much about girls?"

"Before I left home, dad insisted on having 'the talk' with me," said Sparx, rather disgusted. "Change of subject, _now_."

"But-"

"Now!"

* * *

Cynder walked quietly down the darkening halls. The sun was setting outside and torches were being lit by the dragons who worked under the Guardians. She came to the entrance to the vision room, where the Guardians normally stayed. She was about to enter when she heard voices. Curious, she opened the door a crack and peeked in.

"So Ember, what do you think of Spyro and Cynder?" asked Cyril, looking down at the young Fire Guardian in training, Terrador and Volteer nearby.

"Well Spyro is really nice, and strong!" said Ember, clearly happy to finally meet her crush. "Dreamy too…" she said, with the normal dreamy voice she had when she said such things.

Cynder snarled at that, was this girl trying to steal her mate from her? It made her blood boil to even think about. However, her thoughts were swiftly interrupted by the conversation continuing. "And what do you think of Cynder, young dragon?" asked Terrador, trying to change the subject. Everyone found the young pink dragon's obsession awkward, including the Guardians. They hadn't said anything yet because the young dragoness was quite child-like in mentality and the crush seemed to be more due to Spyro's heroism than anything else. No one wanted to hurt her feelings over something like that.

"Oh…" said Ember, getting deep in thought. "Well at first, I was kind of scared to meet her to be honest…" she said, looking down, showing shame. "I'd heard so many stories about how terrible and scary Cynder was up until me and mom were found out there…I guess that made it hard to believe she'd changed completely…"

Cynder closed her eyes, wings and head sinking. It always hurt when someone said something like that. Even now, twelve years later it hurt. "And what about now, Ember?" asked Volteer's voice.

"Well I found out she has changed," said Ember, smiling. "She's a little cold, but I guess if I'd been a monster's slave for that long, I'd be too. She's very nice and I'm glad she's my friend now," she explained. "She was a bit cranky today, but I've kind of been too, more than normal anyway."

Cynder blinked with a gasp. It wasn't often she heard someone (other than Spyro) call her nice, even now. It felt good…it felt good for someone to say they were happy to know her. She smiled and walked away to the egg chamber. "She…she thinks I'm her friend…I guess she's not so bad after all…" she admitted, before continuing on to see her adopted egg.

* * *

"Oh I wouldn't get to comfortable child," said the blue eyed entity, watching Cynder from their cave with telepathy. "Things are about to get quite painful for you."

"Yes," said the red eyes, in its normal furious tone. "That little brat will get what's coming to her at last!"

"I think revenge will be fun!" said the yellow eyes, overly happy, as usual. "Can we go now!"

"Yes," replied the blue eyes. "Everyone! Prepare for battle!" she called. "Once all the dragons are asleep, we will strike, and we will finally have our revenge!"

The other two joined her in an evil laugh as an army of the snake-like creatures mobilized, along with several winged stone demon-like creatures that flew over the army.

* * *

And now things start getting more intresting. Yeah, my Ember is a bit childish, you would be if you were raise like her, trust me. And the forces of evil are on the move, what will happen next? See you soon!


	4. Restless Night

New chapter! Alright, today our main villains finally make their move! Once again, big thanks to Sonic The Shapeshifter for beta reading! Enjoy!

* * *

**Restless Night**

Cynder nuzzled her adopted egg tenderly. "I don't know why you've made me feel this way, you're just a little thing that hasn't even hatched yet…" she admitted, looking down at the black shelled sphere. "But you've made me the happiest I've ever been in my life, well you and Spyro," she explained, smiling too the unborn child. "I wonder what you'll look like…I don't even know completely what I'm supposed to look like," she stated, the Apes having done a great many things to her that may have altered her appearance. She knew her wing and tail blades weren't natural, but there were some things she couldn't be sure about. For example, her markings; were they natural patterns or tattoos? A mix of both? She wasn't sure. About all she could be sure of was her color. Cynder looked back at the egg, happy to know those questions would soon be answered. "…I wonder if you can even hear me in there…"

"Of course it can, Cynder," answered Volteer, entering and surprising Cynder and making her jump. "Oh! Sorry for startling you, young dragon."

Cynder calmed herself and smiled. "It's ok, Volteer," she replied, glad to see him truthfully. "So it can hear me?"

Volteer nodded. "Yes, by this time its auditory functions are completely developed and its mind can recognize vocalizations to form memories of them."

Cynder nodded, looking back at the egg. "Thanks…" she said, patting the egg softly with a warm smile. She then remembered what she wanted to speak to him about. "Volteer…lately I've been a lot more aggressive than normal…" she admitted. "Sparx says it's because it's mating season, but I'm not sure…"

Volteer smiled. "Why that's completely natural, Cynder," he replied. "You see, females of any species have certain preparations there bodies undergo prior to mat-"

"Volteer!" shouted Cyril, entering the chamber rather quickly. "You know you're not supposed to give that speech around the eggs! They can hear you!" he reprimanded, looking at the little eggs. "Understanding you is another matter," he muttered under his breath.

Volteer blinked. "Oh yes, my mistake," he replied, embarrassed.

Cyril nodded. "Anyway, Cynder," he continued. "In the kid friendly manner of speaking, your body is getting ready to have eggs because it's the Year of the Dragon, so you're more aggressive. It's preparing itself not only to carry eggs but protect them once they're born. This will happen regardless of whether you're wanting to have eggs or not, as your body doesn't know if you are or not."

Cynder nodded, kind of grateful for Cyril coming in before Volteer could go into a lengthy explanation she probably wouldn't understand, and if she did would gross her out. "Thanks, that's all I needed…is that why Ember is so…flirty?"

"We honestly don't know," said Cyril. "We haven't seen her at any other time other than mating season," he explained. "But I wouldn't worry Cynder, it's probably just childish hero worship, nothing more."

"Yes, Spyro is quite well known around the world after all, it's quite a logical idea that female dragon your age would be captivated by him," said Volteer. "We have experienced that occurrence multiple times before. Cyril, remember that young lady who was overwhelmingly enamored with you when we first ascended to our present positions?"

Cyril looked embarrassed. "Oh yes, the one time I've had someone praise my family linage and not enjoyed it. And my, she didn't take rejection well…" he said, rubbing his cheek, remembering her response well. "Didn't help she was a Fire Dragon either."

Cynder blinked, finding this conversation awkward, as she had no idea what was going on. "Uh…ok, thanks for the advice…"

"Any time Cynder," said Cyril.

"It comes with our employment to impart wisdom on young ones," replied Volteer.

Cynder nodded, then gave a yawn. "Well I'm tired, I'm going to bed, see you in the morning…" she said, heading to bed.

"You know, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't Ember's mother greatly resemble that fire dragon who was once infatuated with you?" asked Volteer, remembering.

Cyril's eyes widened as he came to that realization. "…Yes…she does resemble her quite a lot…" he said. "What did she say her name was?"

"I do believe it was Fina," said Volteer.

Cyril nodded. "Yes, that's her," he stated, extremely surprised. "That explains quite a lot about Ember, doesn't it?" he asked. "My…I sure do hope Ember handles rejection better than her mother," he said, once again rubbing his cheek at the memory.

* * *

Cynder walked back into the room, finding Spyro already sleeping, Sparx as well. "Can't blame them, I'm worn out myself…" she said, curling up next to Spyro. She had to be careful, considering she had blades on her, but she managed. "Spyro…I love you…" she whispered. "I'm afraid Ember might try and take you away from me…but I trust you…" she whispered, laying her head across his back and slipping into sleep.

* * *

_Cynder's mind found herself in a black void, nothing around her but darkness. "Where am I?" she asked, getting a little frightened. "Is anyone here? Hello?"_

_The three sets of eyes belonging to their new foe lit up in the darkness. "You've killed, Cynder," said the blue eyes. "You're a murderer!"_

_Cynder took a step back, then snarled. "No! I…I'm not! That wasn't my fault!"_

"_Oh yes it was, Cynder," replied the angry red eyes. "You killed other dragons! Dozens of dragons have had their blood spilled by those claws of yours!"_

"_Yes, don't try to run from it," said the yellow eyes, still cheerfully. However, considering the situation, the cheerful tone just made it creepy. "You're a murderer, you've got blood on your claws and it just won't wash off."_

_Cynder looked down at her claws, gasping as they were literally covered in warm blood. "N-no…" she stuttered, trying to get it off. "I'm not a killer! I had no control over myself! I was a slave!"_

"_Don't try to hide it," said the blue eyes. "You're a killer, and you've killed hundreds of dragons, Cynder!"_

"_Why did you kill us Cynder? Why?" asked a chorus of hateful voices._

_Cynder covered her internal ears. "I-I didn't mean to! P-please stop!" she yelled, but they didn't stop._

"_And there's a worse truth you'll need to accept, monster!" yelled the red eyes. "Here, let us show you…"_

_Cynder's eyes widen as something appeared before her, a look of horror coming to her face as tears rolled down her face. "No…please…no!"_

* * *

_Spyro found himself standing in the same black void as Cynder was. "Hello?" he called, looking around. "Is someone there?" he continued, wanting to get a response. _

"_Purple Dragon of Legend?" asked the red eyes as they materialized with the other sets. "What a joke! You think you're a savior? You're not!"_

_Spyro snarled. "What are you talking about? I saved the world."_

"_Maybe, but that's not all you did!" called the yellow eyes._

_The world changed to the temple nursery 24 years ago, the Apes ruthlessly crushing eggs and Gaul making off with Cynder's. "This is your fault, Spyro! They came for you! They did this because you were born!" accused the red eyes._

_Spyro gasped in shock. He staggered back, being taken off guard. "No…they came for me but…"_

"_They came for you! They destroyed all the eggs because of you!" accused the red eyes. "These little dragons' lives were snuffed out because of you! They're dead and it's on your head!"_

_Spyro shook his head, watching the images in horror. "…It's not my fault…I didn't…I didn't decide to be born…" he said, resolve slipping as tears started down his face. There was just something about the visions, the voices…they made it hard to argue with them. _

"_Oh but you were still born, Spyro! And because of that, Malefor had all these dragon eggs killed! You're as guilty as Malefor is! From birth you've caused suffering! Just like that monster!"_

"_I'm nothing like him!" yelled Spyro, hating being compared to him more than anything else. He was ashamed to be the same breed as that tyrant._

"_But his darkness is sleeping inside you. Malefor was just like you at your age, then he snapped like a twig," said the yellow eyes._

"_Face it, you're more like Malefor than you could dream!" said the blue eyes. "You're going to become a monster just like him!"_

_Spyro looked down, seeing his skin getting darker, spikes growing out. "No! I don't want to be like him!" he yelled, watching himself become larger, slowly changing into Malefor's form. "No! I can't…please…please make this stop!" he yelled, closing his eyes so as not to see._

"_This is your destiny, child, to become a monster, it's the fate of the Purple Dragon," said the red eyes._

"_That's enough!" called another voice, one that seemed familiar to Spyro. Suddenly, the vision shattered around Spyro._

* * *

Spyro opened his eyes, panting heavily. He found himself on a blue floating platform in a world resembling a night sky, two planets or moons floating in the background. He recognized this place, and the glowing pool in the center. "This place again?" he asked, looking around, but still shaken from his nightmare. However, he was glad to see himself as he looked over his body instead of Malefor. "Chronicler? Are you here?" he called, desperate for help as he walked up to the pool.

"Yes, young dragon," replied a voice, rather deep but kind. "It is I."

Spyro sighed in relief, though the voice sounded different than he remembered. He couldn't put a claw on where he'd heard it before. "Thank the Ancestors…w-what was that?" he asked, shaking in fear and confusion from his nightmare.

The Chronicler let out as sigh. "That was Deadlock," he explained. "I apologize I didn't reach you sooner, her mental powers are hard to break through, even for the Chronicler."

"Deadlock?" asked Spyro, confused. "Who or what is that?" he asked, wanting to know just what was tormenting him.

"In time, Spyro. You don't know enough of the situation to understand who Deadlock is just yet," explained the voice. "But know this, everything she said to you was a lie, you are not responsible for the disaster 24 years ago and you are most certainly not at risk of becoming the new Dark Master, at least not from what I can see. The future I see for you is quite bright, so do not worry."

Spyro let out a sigh of relief, calming down. "Thank you…that was horrible, I though I was going to have a heart attack…"

"Yes, I imagine it was," replied the Chronicler. "Spyro, a new evil is coming forwards. I know you and Cynder have earned peace, but sadly, evil never sleeps," he explained, the pool showing an image of the serpent-like creatures who served the entity now tormenting Spyro. "These vile creatures are called Naga."

"Naga?" asked Spyro, looking at them. "I've never seen anything like them before…"

"Consider yourself fortunate," replied the Chronicler. "The Naga are ruthless evil creatures," he explained. "Centuries ago, before even Malefor, the Naga did unspeakable evil to all who crossed their paths and it seemed none could stand before them," he continued, the picture changing to the Naga ruthlessly attacking other creatures. "Until the first Purple Dragon was born, that is."

Spyro looked confused. "You mean Malefor?"

Yes, Malefor. When Malefor had mastered the four core powers as a child, about your age, he defeated the Naga. This was prior to his fall to the darkness," he explained, the image changing, displaying a much younger version of Malefor, about Spyro's age when he started his journey. Malefor's skin was much lighter and his spikes less pronounced, looking far less frightening. In the image, he was shown fighting back the Naga hordes with his great power.

"That's Malefor?" asked Spyro, shocked at what Malefor used to be like.

"As strange as it may seem, yes," replied the Chronicler. "Malefor was once indeed a hero, but unlike you, power mattered more to him. The more he got, the more he wanted and it consumed him…but that's not the point right now," he stated, having gotten off subject. "His elders prevented Malefor from destroying them completely, likely one of the things contributing to his growing evil by denying him his wish for destruction. Regardless, they chose instead to banish the Naga to a place known as Serpent's Edge, in the Unknown Realms."

"Unknown Realms?" asked Spyro. "What does that mean?"

"They're a vast stretch of lands far outside the Dragon Realms," explained the Chronicler, a vast rainforest being displayed in the pool. "So called because they're a place Dragons have never explored, the reason being the Naga and their cohorts control most of it," he continued. "But after eons in hiding, the permanent fall of Malefor has given the Naga the opportunity to seek their revenge."

Spyro blinked, a little confused. "So they didn't attack because they were afraid of Malefor?"

"Exactly," replied the Chronicler. "Now that Malefor has been defeated once and for all, the Naga have finally caught wind of his defeat and seek to take their revenge on the Dragons," he continued. "The entity that tormented you in your dreams is Deadlock, the Queen of the Naga, though she is not a Naga herself," he stated, three sets of eyes appearing in a shadowed form within the pool. "Deadlock and the Naga seem to have a specific vendetta on you and Cynder as well."

"They want revenge on us?" asked Spyro, confused as to why they'd want revenge on the ones who defeated their enemy. "What did we do?"

"Well as the Purple Dragon, they see you as a way to take revenge for Malefor defeating them," the Chronicler explained. "They can't avenge their defeat on him, so they chose you…as for Cynder, that much I'm not certain of," he continued. "Though that may be my own fault, I'm rather new at my job."

"Huh?" asked Spyro, then remembered the voice was different. "You're not the same Chronicler I knew, are you?"

The Chronicler chuckled, amused Spyro finally caught on. "That's correct, young dragon," he replied. "You see, when you repaired the world following the Destroyer's attack, a new age started. With every new age, a new Chronicler must be chosen. The one you knew has retired so to speak, passed on to finally take his place in the afterlife with the others he knew from his time on earth."

Spyro nodded, though was a little saddened to know the old Chronicler was gone. "I understand," he said. "What else do you need to tell me?"

"Well Spyro, after you have your first encounter with the Naga, you'll need to come with Cynder to White Isle to meet with me," explained the Chronicler. "There I'll be better able to explain things. Now it's time for you to return to the real world, young dragon, and prepare to face the Naga's armies," he continued. "May the Ancestors watch over you, may they watch over us all…"

Spyro was about to say something, but was cut off as the dream faded. Something just seemed so familiar though…

* * *

Spyro groaned, slowly awakening in the real world. "Huh?" he asked, yawning as he looked around. "At least he had better timing than the old one…" he muttered. "Hey Cynder…" he said, turning to her, only to find her in the throws of a nightmare. He then remembered what the Chronicler had said. "Cynder!" he yelled, shaking her, knowing she was in Deadlock's clutches like he was.

Cynder's eyes launched open and she jumped up, shocked, panting heavily and shaking in fear.

"Cynder…it's ok," said Spyro.

Cynder turned and looked at him. She suddenly burst into tears and laid her head on his shoulder, trying to find any comfort. "S-Spyro…I…I k-killed her," she sobbed, clearly deeply disturbed.

Spyro didn't know how to respond. "What do you mean?"

"M-my mother!" Cynder cried. "I killed her when I was Dark Cynder! She begged me not to and I killed her! I saw it! She kept begging me not to kill her and I did it anyway!" she cried, horrified. She'd seen it with her own eyes, she'd been the one to kill her mother. The dragon knew she was her daughter and tried talking her down, only to be struck down by her.

Spyro gasped but moved Cynder to look in his eyes, looking serious. "Cynder, don't believe that…" he demanded, knowing exactly what it was.

Cynder looked hurt and confused. "But Spyro, I saw it…"

Spyro shook his head. "No, what you saw was a nightmare caused by someone named Deadlock," he explained. "The Chronicler told me, me and you are being targeted by some monster named Deadlock. She trapped me in a nightmare and tried to convince me I would turn out just like Malefor, I even saw myself turning into him," he continued, still shaken by his own nightmare. "But it was just a lie, I'm not going to turn out like him."

Cynder seemed to settle down a little. "So I didn't…I didn't kill my mother?" she asked, still shaken.

Spyro looked uncertain. "I'm sorry…but I can't be sure of that," he replied, wishing he could be of more help than he was being. "But what I am sure of is it was Deadlock's fault you saw that, so it could be a trick," he explained, looking her in the eyes. "And I know something else. Even if you did kill her, you weren't yourself. You were Malefor's puppet and I don't think she'd hold it against you for being brainwashed at the time."

Cynder settled down, looking down at her paws, some tears still running down her face. "But…if I did kill her, even if it wasn't my fault…how do I tell our child?" she asked. "What do I tell it if it asks about its grandparents? I just want to be a good mother Spyro, how can I if I killed mine?"

Spyro smiled and nuzzled her softly. "Cynder, you'll be a great mother, I'm sure of that. You're the strongest dragon I've ever met. Most other dragons would just get crushed under everything you've been through, you carry on. I know you'll be able to do this."

Cynder listened, then looked up with a smile. "Thanks Spyro…that means a lot," she said, then sighed. "…I know I didn't know her, Spyro…but it still hurts to think I might have done such a terrible thing," she admitted, thinking. "…Do you really think she'd forgive me if I really did do it?" she asked, trying to hide how upset it made her. She was trying to look reassured for his sake, knowing he couldn't bare to see her hurting.

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure of it. If she'd be anything like my family, she'd know you didn't mean to" Sure it'd never been something like this, but he'd yelled harshly at his dragonfly family on occasion in anger. They always knew he didn't mean what he said. "Speaking of my family, where's Sparx?"

"Under here!" said a muffled voice from behind Spyro.

Spyro looked back to see his tail was on top of Sparx. "Oh! Sorry!" he yelled, removing his tail from Sparx. "Guess that happened when I woke up."

Sparx growled, panting. "Sure, next time I'm sleeping a bit further away…" he said, kind of angry. He flew up and dusted himself off. "Did you say the Chronicler? The weird old dragon who kept giving you fainting spells?"

"Yeah," said Spyro, nodding. "Well not the same one."

"Not the same one?" asked Sparx. "There's more than one?"

Spyro shook his head. "No, the old one retired when we fixed the planet, the new one talked to me about…" he said, then gasped as he remembered the conversation's point. "Oh no…the Naga! We have to tell the Guardians!"

"Naga?" asked Cynder, confused. "What are the Naga?"

"I'll explain later!" yelled Spyro, running out of the room, the other two in pursuit They soon reached the Guardians' chambers, only to find them already out on a balcony. "Everyone! The Chronicler contacted me!" he yelled, running out onto the balcony. "There's an army coming!"

"It appears your warning is a tad late, dear boy," said Cyril, looking out over the balcony with the others.

Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx all looked out over the balcony, seeing the Naga and the strange stone creatures approaching in a small army towards the temple. This earned a group gasp of surprise from them.

"Oh, so _those_ are Naga…" said Sparx, staring wide-eyed at the army approaching.

* * *

First real fight will happen next chapter, and Ember will get some spotlight as well. Thing is I didn't know a real way to fit her into this chapter. Anyway, see you next time!


	5. Defending The Temple

Alright, finally we have some action with the first fight, and boss fight, as well as the introduction of our big bad. We also see what Cynder in 'mama bear' mode is like. Enjoy! Once more, thanks to Sonic Shapeshifter for helpping me!

* * *

**Defending the Temple**

"Naga?" asked Cynder, confused as to what they were. "What are Naga?"

"The Naga are a race who centuries ago were banished from the Dragon Realms," said Cyril. "The stories told of them are quite…unsettling. But I don't know most of it, a lot of their legend is lost to history."

Terrador nodded. "But why have they returned? Why now?" he asked, confused and rightfully distressed at this situation.

"The Chronicler told me why," said Spyro, getting everyone again. "Malefor defeated them before he turned evil and his elders banished them to the Unknown Realms. They've finally heard we beat Malefor so they're here for their revenge."

"The Chronicler again?" asked Volteer, confused. "My what a startling development, it's been quite some time since he last communicated with you."

"Enough, Volteer, that's not important," said Cyril. "We can sort out specifics later, we have to protect the temple. I could never forgive myself if what happened 24 years ago happened again."

"Yes," said Terrador, as Ember ran in. "Ember, the temple is being attacked, we don't have time to explain," he replied. "Spyro, Cynder, you go with Ember to the egg chamber. I want you two to guard that chamber with your lives," he commanded. "Ember, I want you to move the eggs down the hidden passage we showed you, be very careful."

"Secret passage?" asked Sparx, confused. "What secret passage?"

Cyril smiled. "We learn from our mistakes, we've taken precautions after the last time."

"Alright, let's go-" started Spyro, only to find Cynder had already started off. "Cynder wait up!" he called, taking off after her.

Ember was confused, but nodded to Terrador. "Alright, I'll help, be careful though, ok?" she asked, taking off after the other two dragons.

Terrador nodded and sounded an alarm, calling dragons from throughout the temple to its defense before flying into battle himself alongside his fellow Guardians.

* * *

By the time Spyro caught up to Cynder, she had just killed two Naga and was impaling a third on her tail. She looked quite furious. "Cynder, what's gotten into you?" asked Spyro, somewhat frightened by her aggressiveness.

Cynder watched the Naga she impaled disintegrate into ash and leave behind a cluster of crystals, the other two dead Naga suffering the same fate. "Our egg is in danger Spyro," she said, looking over he shoulder. "I'm going to tear anyone who gets between me and my baby to shreds without a second thought until it's safe," she said, completely serious, material instincts she didn't even know she had now in full swing. She hadn't felt them before, but she understood exactly what they were.

Spyro blinked, then realized she was right. Their egg was in danger, he hadn't bonded with it as strongly as she had but he still cared for the baby as his own. Like any father, he felt compelled to protect it fiercely. "I'm with you," he said, nodding. "I might not have connected like you have yet, but it's my kid, I'm not going to let some ugly snakes get their claws on it," his mouth curling up into a snarl as his fatherly instincts began to kick in. Like Cynder, he'd not felt these feeling before but understood them.

Cynder smiled and nodded. "I thought you might feel that way, now let's take care of these monsters," she said, turning back and taking off, Spyro following close behind.

Ember flew in after them, finally catching up. She wasn't sure what was going on, but like any Guardian, she was more than willing to protect the temple and the eggs. As a bunch of Naga swarmed down the hall, she engulfed herself in flames and plowed into them with a Comet Dash, forcing two back before finishing them off with a powerful flamethrower-like stream of fire breath. "I might just be the Fire Guardian in training, but I'm not about to let the temple down when I'm needed," she said, now a tad more mature due to being "on duty".

Spyro nodded. "Good job Ember, you're pretty tough," he said, impressed by her strength. He was also intrigued by something about her fire. It seemed more composed and held together better than normal, as if she had greater control over it than he did. His was more of a fiery burst while hers was a more compact stream of flames that held together over a longer distance. He would've assumed it was because she was a natural Fire Dragon, but even the adult Fire Dragons he'd seen didn't have fire like she did, he wondered what it meant.

Spyro then watched more Naga swarm at them, anger rising up inside him at the creatures threatening his child. "My turn," he said, lowering his head and going into a full charge. He drove his horns into a Naga's gut and flipped it overhead with all his power. Cynder leapt up and assaulted the Naga Spyro threw with a bicycle kick and launched it into another one with one last kick. Ember, quickly on the attack, let loose a stream of flames on the downed Naga to finish them off. Cynder saw more on their way and let out a high pitched banshee-like scream, projecting red sound waves from her mouth. The attack bombarded the Naga, forcing them back and stunning them. This allowed Spyro and Ember to circle them and burn them to death with an onslaught of fire breath.

Soon, that wave of Naga were dead, allowing the group to move on through the chambers. They soon entered a main hallway on the way to the egg chamber, which was empty. "This is a bit too quiet, don't you think?" asked Sparx. "I know when something is too quiet and this is defiantly it."

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said, on guard. With a screech, several Naga emerged on upper levels of the room armed with bows and arrows and started firing, forcing the dragons to dodge. Spyro tried to spit a fireball at one but it was evaded. "These things are fast," he said, barely dodging an arrow and gaining a small scratch across the back.

Ember flew up and spun around, breathing a stream of fire and managing to burn one of the Naga to force them back, allowing Spyro to headbutt one and send it flying out the window to its death. Cynder followed up by flying into at another one and coated her tail in poison before he could recover. She then swung her tail around and stabbed the Naga in the chest, killing it. She looked up and realized another had already taken aim at her, about to fire. Thankfully, Ember flew in and blasted it with her fire and then tail whipped it out the window.

"I've got your back," Ember said, giving a smile to her friend. She might get on Cynder's nerves unintentionally, but she did considered the black dragon a really good friend.

Cynder nodded with a smile, glad to have Ember there to help. "Thanks."

"Come on!" called Spyro, after electrocuting the last Naga with a bolt of lightning from his mouth. "We're nearly there," he explained, leading down the path towards the egg chamber.

"Wow, you were really strong back there, Spyro," said Ember, with her normal dreamy tone. The brief break in action allowed her to revert back to her flirty persona. "If you're that strong, we'll protect the temple for sure!" she praised, keeping her flirtatious tone.

Cynder snarled, in no mood for this right now. "Let's just hurry!" she snapped, startling Ember as she hurried down the hallway. However, they were soon attacked again. But this time, it wasn't from the Naga but by three of the stone, demon-like monsters. They were humanoid in structure, but were quite demonic in appearance and rather frightening.

"What are those things?" asked Sparx, confused. "They aren't the snake things."

"They're standing between me and my baby!" said Cynder, angry and not giving a darn what they were. Ember's flirting had gotten on her nerves and her egg was in danger, she was at least a bit glad to have them to take her frustrations out on. One of the creatures leapt at her, attempting a slash with her claws but she counterattacked by diving into her own shadow and vanishing. As it looked around in confusion, Cynder burst up behind it and slashed it with shadow coated claws, cutting into its stony hide. Before it could recover, she let a powerful stream of poison loose from her mouth, badly wounding it. It survived the attack, however, and spun around, slashing at her several times before Cynder slashed it in the face with her tail, killing it and causing it to shatter to dust.

Ember was surprised at how angry Cynder was, but ignored it to blast another one of the monsters with a torrent of flames, then slashed it twice with her claws to force it back before being hit back herself. Refusing to be beaten, Ember did a Comet Dash into its chest and shattered it. "They're pretty tough."

Spyro nodded, slashing the remaining one several times to no effect before spitting a chunk of rock into its chest, forcing it back. He then fired another one into its head, wounding it, before doing a Comet Dash of his own and shattering it. "They're made of rock, no wonder they're so hard to kill."

Cynder shrugged. "I don't care, if its standing between us and our egg, it's going down."

Spyro nodded in complete agreement. "But don't forget Cynder, we need to protect all the eggs, not just ours."

Cynder realized this and looked embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess I forgot a bit…I'm just being a bit protective I guess."

"You're a mother, that's their job," said Sparx. "Our mom once beat up a Frog Weed until it spit me out, all by herself."

Spyro nodded. "I remember that one," he said, continuing on, not wanting to waste more time. He felt just as protective as his mate did, but was a tad more composed about it. Cynder was dealing with more than just her material instincts so she was a lot more aggressive at the moment than he.

* * *

They soon came across more of the stone monsters at the door to the egg chamber, which was presently sealed in response to the attack, a defense mechanism installed when the temple was built. There were three total, two like the ones they'd already faced and one larger one that was armed with a sword and shield, which he was using to beat at the door to try and get in. "Get away from there!" yelled Spyro, now angrier that he knew for a fact the monsters were after the eggs. He was even angrier that it was his and Cynder's egg that was in there as well.

The larger one snarled and turned. "Purple Dragon, your head will get me a reward," it said, voice low and grating.

"Oh great, a talking rock monster," said Sparx.

Cynder snarled, low to the ground with wings outstretched in a threat. She was furious that they'd actually come after the eggs and now even angrier that it'd threatened her mate. "Listen you, I'm in a _very_ bad mood right now. My egg is in there and if you don't get out of my way, I'm going to tear into you so fast you won't even have time to finish you next sentence!"

The monster laughed. "Try and stop me, you-" He was cut off by Cynder doing exactly what she'd warned him she was going to do-tear into him. She pounced onto him and slashed him fiercely with her claws. Spyro, now angry himself, joined and the two knocked the large rock monster to the ground and attacked him with fury only known by parents protecting their children.

Ember blinked, somewhat confused due to her naïve nature, but blasted one of the other monsters with fire and started fighting it to distract it.

Sparx blinked, looking at the other one as it tried to sneak up on Spyro and Cynder as they fought the bigger one. He picked up a small rock and threw it, hitting it in the back of the head. "Hey ugly! Leave them alone!" he yelled, but regretted it and screamed as it charged after him. Sparx proceeded to run for his life around the chamber.

The bigger monster kicked the two dragons off him, already covered in cuts and gashes despite his rocky hide. Spyro leapt at him and received a bash of his shield in response but allowed Cynder dive into her Shadow again and blindside the creature from behind with a slash. Angry, the stone warrior spun around and slashed at her with her sword, managing to inflict a gash on her chest. Before he could follow up, Cynder ignored her wound and breathed a blast of shadowy fire into his face, choking and blinding him. Spyro took advantage by blasting the creature from behind with a bluish-white mist, freezing it solid. Cynder finished the job with a poisonous slash of her tail to shatter the monster completely.

* * *

Sparx panted as the other monster chased him into a room, that is until the creature's wings got stuck in the doorway. Sparx then noticed the switch for the door and smirked, pulling it and slamming the heavy stone door down on the creature's body, shattering it. "Oh yeah! I got you! Don't mess with Sparx!" he yelled, then realized he didn't know how to open the door, as it was one of those that needed a dragon using its elemental breath to open it. "Uh…how do I get out of here?"

* * *

Ember finally finished her opponent off with a burst of flames and panted, heading over to Spyro and Cynder. "We did it…" she said, then gasped. "Cynder, you're hurt…" she muttered, watching blood drip from the gash on Cynder's chest.

"It's ok," said Cynder, cringing now that she noticed the wound. She took a red gem from the remains of the lead creature and shattered it with her tail, the shards absorbing into her chest and healing the wound. "Now let's check on the eggs," she said, turning to the door.

Ember nodded, glad it wasn't serious enough to need more than a gem to heal. She blasted the door with her flames and caused it to open. To their relief, the eggs were all safe. "Thank the Ancestors the door kept them out long enough for us to get here," she said, looking over the eggs.

Spyro and Cynder moved over to their own adopted child, both smiling down at it. "Thank goodness you're ok," said Cynder, nuzzling it affectionately.

Spyro nodded, joining in. "I know, I was worried," he replied, happy. "Thank goodness it's safe."

Ember walked over to one of the Ignitus statues and pressed in on its foot, causing a hidden doorway to open. "Alright, I'll get to moving the eggs to the safe room," she said, starting with the eggs closest to the door.

Cynder nodded. "Take good care of the eggs…" she said, looking back to hers. "Momma will keep you safe, ok?" she promised, worried about the fate of her child.

Spyro smiled but rose from his unborn child. "Cynder, we've got to watch the door, none of the eggs will be safe if the room isn't guarded."

Cynder nodded, tearing herself away from her adopted egg. "Yeah, let's do it…"

* * *

The two dragons went outside and locked the door behind them. "Spyro…think the eggs will be ok?…Think _our _egg will be ok?" she asked, worried sick as she looked back at the door.

"If we both do our jobs, the eggs will all be safe," Spyro said. While he'd feel better if they were helping Ember move the eggs, it made more sense to do it this way. If no one got into the room, no one could hurt the eggs. More importantly, if they kept the fighting in the hallway, the eggs wouldn't get shattered in the crossfire. "Ember is doing her job, if we do ours the eggs will be fine."

Cynder nodded, somewhat reassured, she then saw a few Naga slinking towards them. "Alright then, let's do this…" she said, taking a fighting stance as they charged, blasting one back with a powerful gust of wind from her mouth. She followed up with several claw slashes to finish it off.

Spyro nodded, letting loose a blast of ice and freezing several of the Naga solid, following up with a Comet Dash through them to finish them off. The Naga kept coming but Cynder used her scream to stun them, allowing Spyro to electrocute them with a bolt of lightning from his maw. "Nice job, Cynder," complimented Spyro. "If we keep this up, the battle will be won in no time."

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the chamber and a gigantic Naga, at least three times their size, slithered into the room, four arms extending from his sides as opposed to two. Blue armored covered his midsection with two swirling shoulder spikes extending out, the spikes and a diamond shape in the center of his chest golden colored. His top arms each wielded a sword while one of the bottom arms held a hand ax and the other sported a wrist blade. The look was topped off with a strange serpent-like skull worn as a helmet.

Cynder sighed, looking to Spyro. "You had to say that, didn't you?"

"Ah, Purple Dragon, I've been looking for you!" said the massive Naga. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am General Grendel, second-in-command of the Naga army. I can't wait to hang your skull on my trophy wall!" he said, then looked to Cynder. "And Lady Deadlock will certainly reward me greatly when I present her with your head."

Spyro couldn't help shivering slightly as Grendel threatened to hang his skull on a trophy wall, but then got furious as he threatened Cynder. "You think you can stop us after we've killed off everything you've sent our way so far?"

Grendel chuckled. "So you've beaten some basic Naga and a few Gargoyles, I'm a completely different thing!" he snarled, finally giving a name to the stone creatures. "Prepare to die!" he yelled and let out a fierce roar, swinging his massive tail down at them, forcing them to dodge. He swung his hand ax around, forcing Cynder to spin out of the way. Spyro blasted him in the back with fire but his armor guarded him, allowing him to spin around to slash at him with one of his swords. Spyro managed to dodge the slash but was bashed into a wall with Grendel's tail. Cynder snarled and landed on Grendel's tail, slashing it with her tail blade, earning a roar of pain before being backhanded off his tail. She managed to regain her senses in time to dodge as Grendel spat a stream of green poison from his fangs.

Cynder snarled and replied with a stream of her own poison breath, only to be dodged by the surprisingly agile Naga and have his tail smack her against the wall. Spyro rejoined the battle, blasting Grendel in the tail with his fire breath and getting a roar of agony. Grendel snarled and tried to slash him repeatedly with his wrist blade, managing to get a few nicks on Spyro before lunging at him with a bite, forcing Spyro to hold his jaws open, keeping his jaws inches away. He managed force the Naga's jaws open enough to breath a torrent of fire down his throat, causing Grendel to release him and scream in agony.

Spyro and Cynder regrouped as Grendel coughed from his now burned throat. "This guy is tough," said Spyro, concerned.

"There's got to be some way to make him hold still so we can get a good hit on him…." said Cynder, looking around. She was desperate to find anything to stop this monster, knowing her child was right behind the door and in danger if she didn't.

Spyro did the same and saw the doors in the hallway, which like the one Sparx had used had heavy stone doors. "I have an idea, just be ready, ok?" he asked, getting a nod from Cynder.

Grendel snarled, finally over his choking fit from having fire blasted down his throat. "You'll pay for that, dragons!" he roared, swinging his ax and being dodged.

Spyro flew up and blasted Grendel in the face with flames. While his skull helmet protected him, it still got Grendel's attention. Spyro flew into one of the rooms and blasted Grendel again, earning an attempted stab from one of his swords, which got Grendel's hand into the room up to his wrist. This allowed Spyro to trigger a switch and make the door slam down on Grendel's forearm, trapping it. Grendel roared in pain and tried to pull his arm free to no avail. As he tried, Spyro began blasting his hand with his fire breath, earning a worse roar of pain.

Cynder, taking advantage of Grendel's position, let loose with her poison breath on his snake-like lower body, earning another roar of agony. Grendel retracted his wrist blade and started prying the door open with his lower arm and tried to slash Cynder with his ax but was dodged. Cynder flew passed as he slashed at her repeatedly and spun, slashing Grendel's arm with her tail. Grendel roared out in fury and raised his sword, slashing at Cynder. Cynder, however, dodged at the last second and caused the enraged Grendel to slice off his out forearm.

Grendel staggered back with a roar of agony, clutching his stomp as his severed forearm dissolved into ash. "This isn't over! I'll get you!" he yelled, slithering off in defeat.

Spyro used his fire breath to open the door. "Did we win?" he asked, looking around.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, Grendel ran for it after I tricked him into cutting off his own arm," she explained. "Looks like we won."

Spyro nodded, joining Cynder in the center of the hallway. "I hope Ember got all the eggs out by now, I'm worn out from that fight."

"Which is exactly what I wanted," said the same voice the blue head possessed. Before they could react, a combined blast of fire, ice, and electricity erupted from the shadows and struck them both, causing them to scream in agony as the powerful attacks hit them. They fell to the ground, severely hurt. Before they could react, a rather cheery faced female electric dragon head burst out of the shadows and bit down on Spyro's back, drawing blood. A matching, fierce eyed fire dragon head erupted from the shadows and bit down on Cynder in the same fashion, lifting them both up in front as a collected and smug ice head emerged from the shadows. "You've fallen right into our trap."

Spyro looked up weakly, recognizing the blue eyes of the ice head from his dream. "It's you…are you…"

"Deadlock?" asked the ice dragon. "Why yes, I am."

"So am I," replied the electric dragon, disturbingly cheerfully despite her voice being muffled by holding Spyro in her mouth.

"As am I," replied the fire dragon.

The two slammed Spyro and Cynder together and threw them against a wall harshly. Deadlock emerged from the shadows, revealing that all three heads sprouted from the same dragon. The electric head's side of the body matched an electric dragon while the fire head's matched a fire dragon, the center matching an ice dragon's and each set of spines running side by side down her back, her wings black with a red membrane. Three spikes sprouted from her tail tip, the electric part's being dark blue while the fire side's was a deep red and the center one an icy blue. She was also at least twice the side of a normal dragon, likely to accommodate her three in one nature.

"_We're_ Deadlock!" announced all three heads at the same time, allowing the two dragons to gasp in shock at the fact Deadlock was a three headed dragon before letting loose another triple blast of fire, ice, and electricity and blasting them both into a wall. As the two heroic dragons fell unconscious to the ground, Deadlock laughed evilly.

"It was never our aim to kill you, what we have in store is much worse," said the ice head.

"We just wanted to weaken you enough that you'd be defenseless," said the fire head.

"Now, sleep while we take care of what we need to," said the electric head as Deadlock started towards the door.

Cynder groaned, trying to rise, barely hanging onto consciousness as Deadlock's heads opened the door with their breath. "No…please stop…" she begged, unable to bear the idea of something happening to any of the eggs, especially her own. Unfortunately, she couldn't manage anything and lost consciousness completely, falling limply to the ground.

Deadlock chuckled. "Time for our revenge, the dragons will have no idea what hit them," said the ice head, an evil smirk crossing her face as the tri-headed dragon entered the room.

* * *

Yep, that's what Deadlock is really like! Anyway, see you next time!


	6. Haunted Past

Hello everyone. After that exciting fight filled chapter, we're back to character driven scenes. The aftermath of the temple raid, is it as bad as the last one? Let's see! And I have to admit, I couldn't get ahold of Sonic the Shapeshifter to review this chapter, but I hope I did good enough. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Haunted Past**

Spyro moaned, slowly waking up to find himself being treated by several other dragons in the infirmary of the temple. Cynder was nearby, likewise being treated likewise but still unconscious. "You're awake!" shouted Sparx, flying in and hovering next to Spyro. "Boy, you had us all worried sick, buddy," said the small Dragonfly. "I got locked in a room taking care of one of those stone…monster things and when I got let out, you and Cynder were out cold."

Spyro was relieved to see his 'brother' but still worried. "Glad to see you…Is everything alright? Is everyone else ok?"

"Yes, we are, young dragon," said Terrador, entering with the other Guardians, Ember included. However, Ember hung back, looking rather uncertain and conflicted.

Spyro blinked, glad they was alright. "I'm glad you're all safe. What happened to the Naga?"

"They're gone," said Cyril. "We managed to prevent most of their forces from entering the temple, but some of them clearly slipped through the cracks. Though the temple at large sustained little damage."

"What about the eggs?" asked Cynder as she shakily rose from her table. "Are they ok?"

Ember looked down guiltily. "I got most of them to safety…I had to start near the door and work outwards, I got all but five into the hidden passage but…" she started, then looked guilt ridden. "I heard something coming and had to leave some behind to keep the ones I'd already saved safe…I'm so sorry…" she finished, lowering her head with shame.

"Don't blame yourself, young one. Anything that beat Spyro and Cynder would've made short work of you by yourself," said Terrador, reassuring her. He knew what that felt like, it was hard to bare making a hard choice. All of them were upset by it, but Ember felt personally responsible. She was a lot like her predecessor in that regard.

"Yeah, Pinky, just relax," said Sparx. "At least all the eggs didn't go splat again."

Cynder nodded, agreeing with that. Ember couldn't be blamed for having to choose between saving all the eggs and saving five more. However, she then frowned as she thought about something. "What about our egg, Ember?" she asked, worried sick about her own child.

Ember looked down, feeling just plain rotten. "I tried…I really did…I got it into the passage pretty early on because I knew it was important to you, but as the door closed after I heard movement…" she started, unable to look either dragon in the eyes. "A big…thing held the door open and batted me aside. When I got up, she'd grabbed your egg and she said," she started, a chill going down her back. "She said, 'This is my revenge', then she just left and let the door close. But I don't know why she said that or why she only took your egg and none of the others…I'm so sorry," she said, looking devastated she'd failed her heroes and friends.

Spyro gasped, looking shocked and hurt. He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. He'd only had that egg for a day but it was his child. It was a life that was in his care and now it'd been stolen. Regardless of time, it hurt to discover your child was taken from you. However, he looked to Cynder, who was trying hard to stop from crying. He looked at her in complete pity and sorrow. She was shaking from the effort to choke back her sobs, taking it very hard. "Cynder…I know it hurts but we can still save our egg…" he said, then turned to the Guardians. "We can, right?" he pleaded, finding his own voice cracking. The more the thought was in his mind the more hurt and devastated he became.

"Well the eggs were not destroyed this time," said Terrador. "So it is possible…"

"But another attack could happen," said Cyril. "It pains me to say it but we must think of the temple, we can't divide our efforts and risk all the eggs and the temple for the sake of six eggs…even if one of them is Spyro and Cynder's," he explained. While he did sympathize with them, he was thinking from the military perspective. He'd been through one war once before, he knew how warfare went.

"We're going," said Cynder, looking furious as tears poured down her face. Despite all her effort, she just couldn't hold her tears back anymore. "Think about it, why would they steal eggs instead of smashing them then and there?" she asked. "Who knows what they have in mind for those eggs? But I know whatever it is, it can't be good. And what if…what if they're planning on what Malefor did to me?" she asked, sobbing as she imagined her poor baby suffering that fate. "And I don't know about you but I'm _**NOT **_letting anything close to what happened to me happen to anyone else ever again!" she yelled, having suffered so much because of that. As she yelled, her eyes briefly flashed white and a shadow seemed to fall over her, but she managed to subdue it and revert quickly. "Especially not my baby…" she said, closing her eyes as Spyro came over and nuzzled her to comfort her. They both knew what had just almost happened and Cynder was certain that it would've happened for real, to both of them, had the egg been destroyed.

"You know, this is something I never thought would come out of my mouth, but she's right," said Sparx. "If I remember, one big, evil dragoness kicked all your tails without even breaking a sweat," he pointed out. "I don't know about you but six of those sounds like a nightmare to me," he said, for once in his life standing up for Cynder. Yes, he liked making fun of her, but he wasn't about to kick her while she was this far down.

"They have a point," said Terrador, after giving it some thought. "We have no way of knowing what the Naga have in mind for those eggs, for all we know she might be right. The Naga are well versed in dark magic if the legends are to be believed and would be capable of it."

"Having six corrupted dragons as powerful and destructive as Cynder's formally villainous self besieging us would be a cataclysm of unspeakable proportions," said Volteer, agreeing with Terrador. "On top of the previously mentioned statement, the Naga do have the proper motivation to attempt such a horrible deed to take their retribution on us and the capabilities to carry it out. If there's even the most minute chance that is what the Naga are contemplating then we have no alternative but to launch a search for the eggs."

"But we can't all go," said Cyril, being rather stubborn as always and not wanting to give up quickly, especially when he thought he was right. "I see your points but if we leave the temple unguarded, we're leaving it open to further threat. Six eggs are not worth putting the entire temple full of several hundred at risk."

"Then don't leave," spat Sparx, having thought Cyril had gone too far. "You know, I might give Cynder a lot of grief, but telling her that her kid isn't worth saving?" he asked, flying up in Cyril's face. "That's too much," Cyril opened his mouth to respond but Sparx cut him off. "And don't go the 'we don't want a repeat of what happened last time' route on me!" he continued, mocking Cyril's voice quite perfectly. "You and I both know if that three-headed psycho had wanted the other eggs she'd have beaten up Pinky over here and done it then! You just don't want to admit you're wrong…" he said, aware that he could be the same way but not caring at the moment. Yes, he could be a jerk sometimes. Yes, he made fun of Cynder quite a lot. But it'd made him mad Cyril had even thought about saying that in front of her.

"Sparx…you…you stood up for me?" asked Cynder, startled.

"Yeah…" admitted Sparx. "But don't get used to it…I'm just worried about the little egg too. That and I couldn't let him make you feel bad, only I can do that!"

Cynder nodded, not able to suppress a smile, Sparx could be a jerk, but he had a good heart. He was kind of like an annoying big brother; he'd pick on you but only he could do it. She then looked to the Guardians. "I'll kill every last Naga with my own claws if I have to if it means getting those eggs back. I'd do it even if it was just ours," she explained, closing her eyes and concentrated hard for some reason. "I'm going, whether I have help or not…" she said, her fury rising. Clearly the loss of her child was very personal for some reason, more so than it was for Spyro.

"But Cynder, you're hurt very badly," said Ember, deeply concerned for her friend. "You're hurt, you should jus-"

"Quiet!" barked Cynder, making the young dragon jump and whimper. This caused Cynder to get a look of guilt. "I'm sorry…but you have no idea how hard it is for me to keep myself together right now…When me and Spyro get this upset, the darkness in us starts to wake up. Right now, I'm fighting just to keep in control," she said, struggling to stop herself from losing it completely.

Spyro gasped, not knowing why this was bothering her. He was depressed and in pain too, but not nearly to her extant. Something made this much harder on her than it was for him. He'd seen Dark Cynder flicker into view for a moment before, but he'd thought she'd just gotten caught up in the moment. This wasn't what he'd expected. "Cynder…what's wrong? I know you're torn up over this, I am too…but this is something different to you, this is more than being worried for our child…what is it?"

Cynder slowly looked up at him, pain filled eyes looking into his. "Spyro…when you saved me, you became the only family I'd ever had," she said, voice full of so much pain and heartbreak. "I've been wondering why I've been so protective of this egg, why I seem so much more connected to it than you are…I finally know…because it's family," she explained, looking up at him in complete disarray. "You and that egg are the only family I've ever had. You had the dragonflies, Ember has her mother. Even the Guardians are like a family…everywhere I look, everyone I've met has a family to really care about them…I didn't…but I wanted to so much," she said, looking down and sobbing.

The others in the room all looked at Cynder in pity and remorse, even Sparx. They hadn't thought about that. She was right, the three Guardians, and Ignitus when he was alive, were like brothers. They'd been together since they were children. Even Spyro had a family, an adopted one but still a family. But Cynder had never had a family. Any siblings she'd had were in all likelihood killed in the raid and she didn't know who her parents even were. No one did because the records were destroyed in the raid. She'd finally got her chance to have a family, to be a mother with a loving mate and a child to care for…and the Naga had torn that from her. No one could blame the poor girl for feeling completely devastated.

Spyro rested his head on Cynder's shoulder, letting her do the same. He did feel hurt to have their egg kidnapped…but he knew his pain could never match Cynder's. "Cynder, we'll get the egg back…I promise we will," he said, trying to comfort her in anyway he possibly could. "And I'll be with you the whole way."

Cynder looked up and managed to stop her tears. "Thanks Spyro…I knew you would be there…you always are."

Cyril looked quite upset, thinking over what Sparx had told him. "Cynder…" he said, getting her attention. "This isn't easy for me to say…I'm sorry…" he said, anyone who knew Cyril knew admitting he was in the wrong was very hard for the proud Ice Guardian. Sparx was right though, he had been mainly covering for himself and not thinking of Cynder's feelings. "I had no idea how much pain this had caused you…if I had I'd not have been so blunt."

Cynder blinked, somewhat surprised. She sighed. "It's ok Cyril…you had a good point…but no matter what, I'm getting my egg back, and the others too," she explained. "Because I can't let anything happen to any of those eggs, especially what happened to me," she said, haunted still by those memories.

Terrador nodded. "Alright, we'll try to reclaim the eggs…but how do we find where the Naga went? There are no maps of the Unknown Realms."

Volteer gave it some thought. "Say Spyro, didn't you say the Chronicler reaffirmed his telepathic communications with you? What did he say?"

Spyro blinked then nodded. "Oh yeah, that's right," he said. "He said after we encountered the Naga for the first time to come to White Isle and he'd tell us what we need to know. He also said the leader of the Naga was named Deadlock, she was the one who knocked us out," he said, earning a gasp from all three Guardians. "What?"

"Yeah, simultaneous gasps are not a good sign," said Sparx.

The three looked to each other. "What did Deadlock look like?" asked Terrador, looking concerned.

"She was a three-headed dragon," explained Cynder, bitterly. After all, she was describing her child's kidnapper, so that was rather justified. "One fire, one ice, one electric."

The three Guardians shook their heads in despair. "I was afraid of that," said Terrador, looking hurt.

"You know Deadlock?" asked Ember, confused at all this. She'd never even heard of Deadlock before now.

"Yes…we did," said Cyril. "She was born on the first Year of the Dragon we were full fledged Guardians for…

* * *

**Flashback**

A younger Terrador, Ignitus, Cyril, and Volteer, all young adults, overlooked a very unusual egg. It was at least twice the size of a normal egg, having swirling stripes of red, blue, and yellow covering its surface. "My word, what a strange egg…" said Cyril, very perplexed.

"Indeed, I've never seen, heard, or imagined such an bizarre sight," said Volteer, looking it over inquisitively.

Terrador nodded. "What do you think, Ignitus?" he asked, wanting to have their leader's advice.

Ignitus looked it over carefully. "Well it's quite large, that's for sure," he said, amused. "And it's got the colors of a fire, ice, and electric egg mixed together…quite strange," he replied. "We'll just have to wait and see what it is when it hatches I suppose."

"_We kept close watch on that egg, because we had no idea what secrets it held. For all we knew, it could've been something very unique," explained Cyril._

"_And indeed it was…" explained Volteer._

The four watched over the egg several weeks later as the eggs began to hatch. Finally, cracks began to mark the shell and a baby Ice Dragon head burst out and let out a cute cry. "An Ice Dragon, excellent!" said Cyril, excited to see his own species emerge from the egg.

"Wait, look," said Ignitus, as more cracks occurred and a Fire Dragon head burst out next to the other head, looking around. "A Fire Dragon as well."

Finally, an Electric Dragon head broke her way out on the other side of the ice head, letting out a happy cry. "And an Electric Dragon! My word! The egg contained triplets!"

Finally, the infant broke free of the egg, revealing Deadlock's infant self. In addition to being tiny (though large for a baby), her wings and horns were extremely small, as was normal. The four Guardians looked at the three headed child in confusion. "She…she has three heads?" asked Terrador, amazed.

"Most unusual, and of three different elements as well, quite astounding!" exclaimed Volteer. "Clearly three embryos must've combined before birth or a single one failed to split properly! I've heard of conjoined twins in the past, but I never thought we'd see conjoined triplets!"

"It doesn't matter," said Ignitus, watching the three-headed child start crying for attention, which he gave by putting his face down were she could see. "A child is a child, unique as she may be. But I will say this, this one will have an interesting future, that much is certain."

"_The child's parents refused to have anything to do with her, sad as it may be. So we ultimately raised her at the temple. We named her Deadlock," explained Cyril. "Because well…"_

The child's three heads had difficulty coordinating their body, causing her to trip and fall over herself. The heads then started fighting, forcing Ignitus to carefully break up the heads' conflict.

"_Her three heads were always at a Deadlock," finished Cyril._

"_But overtime, that waned as her heads developed some degree of telepathic link with one another," explained Volteer. "Which allowed them to communicate and coordinate their movements."_

"_As time passed, Deadlock became a temple nursery dragon. She was a very good one, the children loved her very much," explained Cyril._

Deadlock stood over a group of young dragons as they practiced their elements, all three of her heads looking happy as opposed to the split in their present personalities. A young Ice Dragon had trouble with his ice breath and whimpered, Deadlock patting his head and then demonstrating how to do it herself and prompting him to try again. This time the child succeeded in getting the proper stream of ice and Deadlock congratulated him, clearly content with her position.

"_Eventually even sired two clutches herself, the first 12 years before your birth," explained Terrador. _

Deadlock curled her massive body around a clutch of eggs, an Earth Dragon her mate. The two both nuzzled their eggs happily, very content and joyful together.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

Terrador let out a sorrowful sigh. "But unfortunately, her second clutch was laid the year of the temple raid and destroyed…" he explained, earning sorrowful looks from the two as they realized what that meant.

"For someone like Deadlock who loved children so much, the blow was probably beyond comprehension," said Cyril, remembering what he'd seen of Deadlock that night. "To make matters worse, her mate was killed in the raid at Gaul's hand. She lost almost everything in one night," he continued. "Deadlock fled the temple, and we never saw her again…until now that is."

Volteer nodded solemnly. "I can only surmise that her already tenuous sanity resulting from having three distinct personalities was completely ruined by the shock and she's gone into a psychotic mental state…"

"Uh…" said Sparx, confused. "What?"

Cynder sighed. "He means her sanity was already fragile from having three heads and the shock of losing everything finally shattered it…" she said, feeling bad for Deadlock. After all, she felt horrible with her egg stolen, she couldn't imagine losing your children and your mate the same night.

"So that's why she has a grudge on me and Cynder…" said Spyro, coming to realization.

"What do you mean, Spyro?" asked Ember, confused.

"We lived…" said Spyro. "We lived through the night her mate and children died. Not only that but she blames me for the temple raid. When she invaded my dreams she said so…" he explained, feeling pity for Deadlock. However, pity didn't blind him to what needed to be done. "I know she's not herself…but we can't let her get away with this. Insane or not, she's leading the Naga against the dragons, and who knows what she's going to do with those eggs. We have to go to White Isle and meet the Chronicler, he's the only one who can help us."

Cynder nodded. "If it helps get the eggs back, I'll do anything…" she said, still shaken up but trying to pull herself together.

The three adult Guardians looked to each other and talked it out and finally came to decision. "Alright, you two will need to go, not all of us can leave the temple," said Cyril, this time being less blunt. "There's still the fact the temple may fall under attack again, so we three Guardians will need to remain here to defend it."

"But take Ember with you," said Terrador.

Cynder didn't look happy. "What? Why?" she asked, then noticed Ember looked somewhat hurt. "No offense, but she's never been through something like this before, me and Spyro have. It'll be dangerous," she explained, though part of it was not wanting to put up with Ember's flirtatious attitude the entire time.

"Yes, that is true," said Cyril. "But once you're in the Unknown Realms, you'll have no way of getting reinforcements, and Deadlock has already defeated you two once," he explained. "Whether it was the years of peace degrading your fighting skills or an ambush doesn't matter. You'll need help if you want to defeat her," he continued. "The three of us are the best defense other than you the temple has, Ember is all we can spare right now."

Spyro saw Cynder's anger. "Cynder, they're right. We might just be rusty from not fighting for so long, but Deadlock is tough, we'll need all the help we can get. Plus, Deadlock has three heads. Having three dragons will even the odds."

"Hey!" yelled Sparx, reminding Spyro he was coming.

"Well three dragons and a dragonfly," corrected Spyro, getting a content nod from Sparx.

Cynder gave a sigh. "Ok…I don't like it but we could really use the help."

"Alright, but it's too late to travel tonight and you two are still wounded," said Terrador. "We'll wait until morning. We'll prepare you supplies for the journey, just concentrate on resting, young dragons."

"Thanks…" said Cynder. "Now can we have some privacy? We've had a rough day," she said, the other dragons nodding and leaving them be.

Ember looked up at them. "I'm still sorry I didn't save your egg…" she said, still guilty for what happened. In truth, she didn't know her obsession with Spyro was hurting Cynder. She just genuinely didn't realize the two were already official mates and thought she still had a chance with Spyro. That said, she really did consider Cynder her friend and felt miserable for failing to protect her child…and of course for failing Spyro because of her crush on him.

"Ember…" said Cynder, feeling sorry for lashing out at her before. "It wasn't your fault, you did all you could," she said, understanding how Ember felt. She knew what it was like to blame yourself for something you had no power to stop. "All that matters is we're going to go rescue the eggs, just do your best, alright?"

Ember slowly looked up and nodded. "Ok…" she said. "You really think I made the right choice leaving those eggs behind?"

"I can't say that, I don't know what else could've happened," said Spyro, feeling bad for the little pink dragoness. "But I do know it was a hard choice and you made the only one you could think of," he explained. "Ignitus spent his entire life blaming himself for what happened at the temple, I don't want to see you doing the same."

Ember smiled slightly. "T-thanks, Spyro…" she said, flattered. "Anyway…rest up, ok? We've got a big day tomorrow. And who knows, maybe the Chronicler will finally be able to tell me what happened to my dad…" she said, thinking. "He knows everything, right?"

Spyro blinded. "Yeah, I guess…anyway, don't worry about that too much, we'll find out when we get there, just rest up, ok?"

Ember nodded, giving a wide yawn, tired herself. "Ok, goodnight!" she called, heading off.

"Well, Pinky is gone," said Sparx. "I'm going back to bed now, wake me when it's time to save the day."

Spyro and Cynder, both exhausted from the events of the day and the emotional toll it took on both of them, curled up together on the bed, slipping into slumber.

* * *

Yes, I like making Cynder rather emotionally tortured, because I felt that's how she was in the second game and in the third she'd just gotten good at hiding it. And Ember still doesn't realize she has no chance with Spyro, but then again, I doubt her mother informed her much on dragon mating in the wilderness when there were no other dragons around at all. Anyway, see you next time!


	7. The Journey Begins

Hey everyone, still don't have a Beta Reader, so bare with me. Anyway, today we meet our subplot's main character and see a side of Deadlock you probably weren't expecting. The journey begins! Enjoy!

* * *

**The Journey Begins**

Cynder woke up late in the night, looking at her sleeping mate, Sparx sleeping on his back on top of Spyro's head. She slowly moved herself away from him and wondered out into the hallway, sneaking a balcony and looked out at the moons sorrowfully. "I've got to get myself under control," she said, looking down at her paws, a dark aura welling up before she forced her darkness back inside. "Is this what Deadlock wanted to happen to me?" she asked, still in turmoil over what had happened. "What am I going to do?" she said in complete despair.

"Perhaps we can give some advice, young dragon," said Terrador, looking down at the Black Dragoness sympathetically as he and his fellow Guardians walked out. "We assumed you may need some advice…your words earlier concerned us…" he explained, all three deeply concerned. Cynder was going through a terrible hardship and they knew the risk of what that could happen.

Cynder spun around in surprise, then nodded, glad they cared enough for her to put off sleep. "…This whole mess has me so upset. My dark side is starting to wake up. I can barely contain it anymore," she said, raising her paw to show the darkness starting around it. "If I don't do something, I'm scared of what's going to happen," she said, looking up to the Guardians with pleading eyes. "I snapped at Ember earlier for being concerned for me. If I snap completely, then I'm going to turn back into Dark Cynder, and I can't let that happen."

Terrador nodded, understanding how she felt. "Sorrow and anger are completely natural feelings, but you're only harming yourself trying to suppress them," he said, having seen how hard Cynder had tried the previous night to avoid crying in front of the others and that even now she was hiding a great deal of her sorrow and anger.

"Indeed," continued Volteer. "In fact there is a direct correlation between suppressed emotional anguish and pent up stress, which can lead to a wide array of physical and psychological issues, some of which are quite dire indeed, including-"

"Volteer, enough with your electric mouth, you're not helping," said Cyril, at odds with Volteer, as always. "Cynder, the point is its not the fact you have these emotions that is the problem, it's how you're dealing with them."

"Yes, you see, Cynder, the dark transformation you and Spyro are unfortunately contaminated by isn't triggered simply by emotional stimuli. It's trigger is when your emotional stress reaches critical levels and exceeds what you're capable of dealing with."

"What this motor mouth means is that you won't become Dark Cynder simply because you're feeling upset," translated Cyril.

"Your emotions have to get so severe that your mind is completely overwhelmed by them, like what's happening now," continued Terrador.

Cynder gave it some thought and nodded. "I think I understand…so Spyro just got completely overwhelmed by his grief over Ignitus dying and that's why he turned into Dark Spyro, is that right?"

"Yes, I've studied that phenomenon quite a bit and researched the ancient achieves for all information on Malefor's dark powers to approximate the cause of your metamorphosis and the trigger thereof," explained Volteer. "I'm 99% certain that this hypothesis is correct. To be honest, I believe you're doing far better at withstanding it than most of us would've been capable of."

Terrador nodded. "The emotional blow you've suffered would make most dragons completely overwhelmed by grief and anger," he explained. "Your breaking point is far higher than most, young dragon."

"That said," said Cyril. "You need to find a way to vent your emotions before they reach your breaking point. You see there are a great many ways one can deal their built up emotions rather than simply lashing out with them or letting them overwhelm you," he explained. "We've given this a good deal of thought and may have the solution to your problem. Come with me," he continued, turning and walking off. "Come Cynder, we need to be quick. That is unless you want to go fight the Naga with so little sleep," he called, Cynder blinking before following the Ice Guardian.

* * *

Cyril lead her to the training room, causing Ignitus' statue to sink into the ground to reveal the training arena. Cynder looked around in confusion. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked, rather baffled.

"Cynder, as we said; your problem isn't your emotions in general, it's how you're dealing with them. You're trying to keep them pent up inside and that's causing them to overwhelm you. Them overwhelming your mind is what you're worried about, correct?" Cyril asked, getting a thoughtful nod from Cynder. "Well if nothing else is true about you, Cynder, its that you are a fighter," he explained. "Thus its only natural that you would best work off your frustrations in combat. I brought you here so you could take out your frustrations and pent up emotions on the dummies as opposed to others or keeping them locked up where they'll overwhelm you. Here you can let everything out and not worry about hurting anyone."

Cynder gave it some thought and nodded. "I guess that makes sense…thank you," she replied, though was baffled still. Cyril was normally loved talking about himself, but he hadn't once shown his prideful nature this entire time. Was something wrong?

Cyril nodded. "You're welcome. If anything goes wrong, just call to me and I'll come to help," he said, heading out the door.

"You're not staying?" asked Cynder, confused.

"Of course not, Cynder," replied Cyril, looking over his shoulder. "This is a private matter, not one I should take part in. I'll be right outside if you need me," he reassured before leaving the room as well, door sealing behind him.

Cynder nodded, understanding. "Alright…I'm not sure about this," she said, uncertain that a little fight could take out all her pain. "But if I don't do something about how I feel, I just know I'm going to slip," she said aloud. "Like Spyro did in the Ring of Annihilation when Ignitus died. And I can't let that happen. If I do, I might not be able to come back," she spoke, airing her fears now that she was alone. Spyro was just infused with Darkness, but not as much as she was. Dark Cynder wasn't just her overcome by evil, she was her own entity, different and sinister. Cynder was terrified of her evil self more than anything else in the entire world because unlike Malefor, she wasn't something she could fight and defeat head on.

Cynder walked into the center of the ring and used the magic of the room to summon dummies of Naga. With a yell, she leapt in and began tearing through the dummies with everything she had, not holding back in the least. She let her tears finally run, knowing she couldn't keep any anger or sadness pent up inside her. She yelled, she cried, and she tore through anything she could get her claws on.

* * *

Cyril turned to the entrance of the training room as Cynder emerged about 15 minutes, panting heavily with her eyes bloodshot from crying but looking more at peace. "Do you feel better, Cynder?" the Ice Guardian asked.

Cynder nodded slowly, still breathing heavily from the fighting. "I actually do," she said, giving a smile. She'd let everything out, her pain and sorrow, she felt much better now that she'd blown off a lot of steam.

Cyril smiled back. "Good, very good," he said. "I hoped this would be just what you needed."

Cynder then looked puzzled. "Why did you help me like this? I know you're a Guardian, but this was a bit more than just helping me blow off steam, you practically guarded the training room while I was in there…" she inquired. It did seem strange the lengths he went to help her, particularly given Cyril's normally self-absorbed nature.

Cyril sighed, looking saddened. "Cynder, if I recall correctly, you and Spyro said that before he died, Ignitus told you how he felt he'd never done right by either of you…all us Guardians feel that way," he explained solemnly. "Like Ignitus, I wanted to make up for it…this was a good opportunity to do so. And also…I felt sorry for even bringing up the idea of forgetting about the eggs. Even to protect the temple, it wasn't something a good Guardian would've done…just because I have an ego doesn't meant my conscious doesn't bother me about it sometimes," he continued in shame, then remembered Cynder was probably even more exhausted now than she'd been before. "Anyway, let's get back to bed, shall we?" he asked, turning and leading the way.

"Cyril…" said Cynder as she followed, getting his attention. "Thank you…"

Cyril smiled in response. "You're welcome, Cynder…"

* * *

The next morning, the entire group, minus Ember, waited at the temple exit. Cynder, while much more relaxed, was a bit anxious to leave. "Where's Ember? We've got to go."

"Probably putting makeup on or something, unlike you she actually acts like a girl," replied Sparx.

Cynder gave him a nasty look. "How so?"

Sparx blinked, not having expected to be called out on his comment. "Uh…I think I'll avoid digging myself deeper this time…"

Cynder patted him on the head lightly. "Smart bug," she joked, relaxing herself a bit.

Spyro smiled. "Glad to see you're feeling better this morning," he said, knowing getting depressed over the situation was exactly what Deadlock wanted them to do.

Cynder nodded. "The Guardians helped me out a bit last night to help me settle down," she said, smiling up to Cyril, getting a smile in return. "I'm still worried about the eggs and I'm still upset, but if I get depressed it's not going to help anyone."

Spyro nodded, nuzzling her. "That's good, Deadlock probably stole our egg just to get under our scales and hurt us. If we let it break us, she's won."

Cynder nuzzled him back. "Yeah…though that doesn't mean I'm not going to shred anyone who gets between me and our baby, it just means I'm going to be in better spirits," she said, serious.

"Same here, save our rage for the battle," said Spyro in agreement.

"Hey guys!" called Ember, running over with a bag of supplies hanging from her shoulder. "Sorry I'm late, my mom wanted to say goodbye before I left. She's a bit protective…" she admitted, somewhat embarrassed. Her childish nature stemmed somewhat from how her mother had always treated her that way. In all honestly, she actually liked the chance to get out on her own and grow up a bit.

"It's fine, Ember," replied Spyro. "We understand."

Cynder nodded. "If she's half as protective of you as I am of the egg, I can understand exactly how she feels."

Ember nodded. "Thanks…I thought bringing supplies might be a good idea," she said, showing the bag. "Don't want to get hungry out there if we can't find anything."

Spyro smiled. "Good idea, this time we don't know how long we'll be gone or if we can find food on the way."

Ember nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Spyro, I'm glad you think I'm smart," she said, rather flirtatiously. "You're pretty smart too," she said, running her tail under his chin a bit.

Cynder snarled but got herself under control. "Anyway," she interrupted. "We'd best get going," she continued. "We can't afford to give them too much of head start."

"Oh, yeah," said Ember, turning away from Spyro. "I forgot we were in a rush, sorry!" she said, embarrassed that she'd forgotten.

"Yeah, let's be in a rush to go into the mysterious lands to face off against a three-headed psycho dragon with an entire army, I'm sure it'll be just peachy," said Sparx, sarcastically.

"My, and I thought Cyril had a cynical vocal dialect," said Volteer as the Guardians walked over, earning a nervous look from Cyril in response.

Terrador chuckled, then looked down at the three smaller dragons. "We will pray for your safe return, and take care of the temple in your absence."

"Quite right, and be careful. Deadlock's polycephaly, that is the fact she has three heads, facilitates the usage of multiple elemental offensive capabilities simultaneously," warned Volteer, in his normal fashion.

"I'm not even going to ask this time," said Sparx, never able to keep track of what Volteer was saying.

"I think he means than Deadlock having three heads means she can use all three of her elements at once," said Spyro. "Me and Cynder can only use one at a time."

"Yes, that is the truth of the matter," said Cyril. "Trust us, we trained her after all," he explained. "Deadlock may not be at Malefor's power level, but she may be even more dangerous than he was."

Terrador nodded. "Do not underestimate her, even when we knew her, her intellect and power was great."

"She was a nursery dragon, how tough can she be?" asked Sparx.

Terrador gave Sparx a disapproving look. "The dragons who watch over the young are to be respected, and they are trained to fight to defend those young ones with their life," he explained, putting the dragonfly in his place. He'd take the dragonfly's insulting to a wide degree, but the Guardians respected all the nursery dragons. "And she's now got the power of the Naga behind her. When you face her, there's no telling how dangerous an opponent she may be," he continued. "Now go retrieve the eggs and may the Ancestors watch over you…may they watch over us all," he said, finding saying that prayer of protection was his duty now that he lead the Guardians.

Spyro nodded before taking off with Ember, Cynder, and Sparx towards the ocean. "Is it just me or does every time someone say that, something horrible happens to us?" asked Sparx aloud, but was ignored.

Cyril watched the group fly off. "Terrador, do you think we should've told Cynder the full truth?" he asked. "We do know why Deadlock holds her grudge on Cynder, I question the logic in holding that back from her."

"While that is true, the fact is Cynder has enough to deal with now," said Terrador, putting a lot of thought into it. "She doesn't need more to deal with right now…"

* * *

On near the other side of the world, lay Serpent's Edge, a massive cave snaking around a shore, the opening, as the name suggests, looked like the head of a massive snake. At the entrance laid a young Fire Dragon of Spyro and Cynder's age. He had a small row of spikes down his neck, his horns curving backwards, though the left horn was broken off in the middle. His most defining trait was a tattoo of icicles encircling his right upper leg and going down the length of his back. The tip of his tail had a club made of orange bone, though it was hardly used. Overall, he had a rather innocent and friendly look to him.

"Well well, what have we here?" asked the rather seductive voice of a female Ice Dragon emerging from the shadows. Her skin was a very light blue, her face was rather long and sinister. Her deep blue horns curled around, somewhat like a goat's with a trio of spikes connected by a light blue fin running between her horns. Her tail was tipped off with a metal ax grafted to her natural bone blade to increase its use as a weapon and her rather long neck and lower front legs were adorned with a black choker decorated with white spikes. Like the Fire Dragon, she too had strange tattoos, hers being fire wrapped around her left front upper leg and down her back. Despite the two being the same age, she was a fair bit larger than him.

The male snarled as he twirled around. "What do you want Cryos?" he growled, clearly not fond of his sister.

"Aww, what's wrong? You're not happy to see your sister?" asked Cryos, feigning insult. "Is little Pyrus missing his mommy?" she asked, mockingly talking to him like he was a baby.

Pyrus snarled. "She's your mom too!" retorted the smaller dragon, though he was rather intimidated by his larger sister.

Cryos scoffed loudly. "Yeah right, you know she treats you like her little angel and me as an afterthought," she replied bitterly. Her fire tattoos glowed dully and she spat a cloud of volcanic smoke in his face. "Making you crown prince when I'm the bigger and stronger one…" she muttered under her breath.

Pyrus coughed and hacked on the sulfuric smoke, his eyes stinging and watering. "You're a stinker, you know that?" he asked, trying to catch his breath and clear his eyes.

Cryos chuckled. "Thanks for noticing," she said, watching her brother choke with glee.

Pyrus snarled as his vision and lungs cleared. "You're just plain cruel!"

Cryos gave a chuckle. "I'm not cruel, just…morally challenged," she replied, approaching Pyrus and making him back up. Cryos watched this with a sadistic smirk on her face. "What's wrong, little boy? Too much of a goodie goodie to fight back? Afraid to show a little backbone?" she asked, putting a paw on his head and pushing his down, looking at the tattoo down his back. "I haven't seen you use your tattoos' power for anything but a nightlight. What's wrong? Too afraid to use the Naga Magic mom gave you?" she asked, smirking as she ignored his struggling and pushed him to the ground. "You're not a dragon! You're a chicken!" she spat, her own tattoo lighting up completely before she breathed a torrent of flames on the ground in front of him, forcing him to jump back. The tattoos were enchanted and let her use fire and Pyrus use ice, though he never really used his. "Come on! Fight me you little twerp! I know you want to!" she mocked, getting Pyrus to snarl as his tattoos started to light up. "Or is little Pyrus too afraid of losing his _other_ horn?"

That caused Pyrus to whimper and his anger to be replaced with sorrow as his tattoo went out. Their mother thought it'd just been lost in an 'accident' while they were playing, but that wasn't true. Cryos had outright broken it off, Pyrus was just too afraid of her to tell their mother. "I never did anything to you…why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, bro," replied Cryos, giving a chuckle. "It's just really fun to make your life miserable!" she continued, pushing him on his back and smirking down at him. "And I know you're too much of a chicken to do anything about it!"

Pyrus tried to look stare Cryos down, but was too intimidated and looked away. "Our darlings! We're home!" called Deadlock's voices from near the entrance.

"Mom!" yelled Pyrus, Cryos letting him out so their mother wouldn't see. Pyrus ran up to the three headed dragoness as she landed at the mouth of the cave. "Mom! How did your trip go!"

"It went wonderfully, little one," said Deadlock's electric head, snaking around and nuzzling Pyrus.

"Yes, we finally got our payback on the ones who cost the lives of your siblings," replied the fire head, seeming genuinely happy as she nuzzled him as well, despite normally being the angry one.

The ice head came down and nuzzled him as well. "But don't worry about that affair, my little firebrand," she replied motherly. "How did you and your sister get along?" she asked, looking to Cryos in concern. She wished Cryos would be more open with her, the girl had gotten so cold recently.

Cryos snarled and pushed her way in, angry at the attention Pyrus was getting, despite the fact she did nothing to get attention herself. "We did fine, mom," she said. "Right, brother?" she asked, getting in her brother's face and giving a snarl.

"Yeah…that's right…" said Pyrus, intimidated.

Deadlock nodded. "Alright, children, play nice," said the ice head.

"We love you both," said the electric head, giving them both a kiss on the forehead and nuzzling Cyros to try and give her some attention. "But we've got work to do."

"We have to make the preparations for the ritual," said the fire head, the three headed dragon leaving the room, returning Naga following.

"Ritual?" asked Pyrus. "What ritual?" he asked, confused, getting even more so as several Naga carried the six dragon eggs, including Spyro and Cynder's . "And what's with the eggs?"

"Who cares?" asked Cryos, not interested and still upset Pyrus has gotten the most attention. "Mom's too busy to pay attention to us, _again_, not that I give a darn," she said, bitterly. "She already made you the crown prince! What more do you want?"

"Don't you care what mom is doing? Or where she got the eggs?" asked Pyrus. "She's been in that backroom an awful lot lately and then she went out for a few days and comes back with a bunch of eggs…I love mom but sometimes I worry about what she's up to."

"Maybe she got a new boyfriend and they got busy," said Cryos, giving a gag at that thought. "Or maybe she just found some abandoned eggs somewhere, that's where she got us. Why do you even care?" she asked, snarling at her brother. "You're momma's little angel, she'll always love you. You've got nothing to worry about. Now shut your yap and let me have some peace!" she barked, still bitter and angry at him being the favorite child. Before Pyrus could reply, Cryos spat a cloud of quick-freezing mist and froze his mouth to shut him up. "Peace at last, see you later, goodie goodie," she said, turning with a chuckle at causing her brother some pain. She then left the room, leaving Pyrus to try to scratch the ice off his face.

* * *

Spyro and company finally reached the ocean. "Alright, now we just need to find White Isle again."

"Find?" asked Cynder. "I thought you knew where it was."

Spyro got a embarrassed. "Sorry, I was kind of unconscious last time…"

"Don't worry, I remember!" said Sparx, confidently.

"Really?" asked Cynder, unbelieving.

"Yeah, you think I wouldn't remember riding on a big…freaky…turtle…thing?" asked Sparx, somewhat insulted.

"Uh…we've got to go over water?" asked Ember, shifting nervously.

"Yeah, what's wrong Pinky? Can't swim?" asked Sparx in his normal tone.

Ember looked sad. "Yes. I'm a Fire Dragon, I really can't swim," she replied, terrified of falling in the water and drowning.

Sparx looked guilty. "Oh…" he said, rubbing his head. "My bad."

Spyro looked sympathetic. "Don't worry Ember, I promise if anything happens, we won't let you drown," he said. "Right, Cynder?"

Cynder nodded, not letting personal feelings get in the way. "Of course, I'd never let another dragon die if I could save them."

Ember smiled. "Alright, I trust you," she said. "I really trust you to catch me, Spyro," she said, back to her flirty tone.

"Uh…let's get going!" said Spyro, turning and flying off, Sparx leading the way, Ember close behind.

Cynder gave a small snarl. "This'll be a long journey…"

* * *

Alright, now you've met Deadlock's children. I don't know if it was clear enough, you'll see how she ended up getting them later. See you next time!


	8. White Isle

Hello everyone! Time for the next chapter! Sorry for the wait, its finales week in college. Anyway, we finally arrive on White Isle! What awaits the group there? Let's take a look!

* * *

**White Isle**

"Sparx!" yelled Cynder, looking around as the group hovered in the sky, seeing nothing but open sea. "How much longer?"

"Uh…" said Sparx, looking around himself. "I'm not sure…"

Cynder snarled. "You have no idea where we are, do you?" she asked, angry.

Sparx rubbed his head. "I think I might have…forgotten how blank and empty the ocean is," he said, nervously, earning a snarl from Cynder, causing him to scream and fly behind Spyro. "Don't eat me!"

"Relax, Cynder," said Spyro, trying to settle things. "We'll find our way, it's not that bad. I'm sure the Chronicler will help us if we can't."

"Spyro…" said Ember, showing signs of fatigue. "I'm getting tired, I don't know how much longer I can fly…"

"I know, Ember, we're all tired," said Spyro, looking around, trying to figure out what to do.

Ember sighed, trying to think of what to do. "Maybe you could try calling the Chronicler," she suggested. "You said he talks to you, wouldn't he know if you called for him?"

"Come on, you really think calling to the guy is going to work?" asked Sparx. "Nothing is ever that easy!"

"No…but she has a point," said Spyro. "We've got to try something after all," he said. "Chronicler! We're lost! Can you please help us?" he called, as loud as he could.

"Oh yeah, calling to the sky, that won't make you look crazy," said Sparx, rolling his eyes. Nothing happened. "See, told you so."

"I guess so…" said Spyro, that is before the water below began to bulge and the massive shape of a giant sea turtle-like creature broke the surface below, six flippers moving it through the water. "One of those things again."

"Great, the weird giant turtle thing is back," said Sparx.

"I think you owe me an apology," said Ember, proud of herself. "Anyway, its called a Leviathan."

"Leviathan?" asked Cynder, having never heard of that before.

"They're giant sea creatures, very friendly and peaceful," explained Ember. "Master Volteer told me about them."

"Well I know one has helped me before," said Spyro. The Leviathan called out to them, seeming to want them to land on its massive back. "It'll probably take us to White Isle like last time," he said, directing the group down to its back.

* * *

Back at Serpent's Edge, Pyrus was looking around the doorway to Deadlock's private room. "What's she doing back there?" he asked, still disturbed by his mother's actions.

"Once again, I reiterate, why the heck do you care?" asked Cyros, lurking nearby, fooling around with a rat. She kept it between her paws, batting it back into the center if it tried to run. "You're the prince, you're the favorite son, she likes you best. If I were you, I'd feel quite lucky," she said, putting most of the emphasis on the prince part.

"I don't care if I'm Prince of the Naga or not," said Pyrus. "I'm worried about our mother. And did you ever think the reason she gives me more attention is because I treat like I actually love her?"

Cyros simply scoffed. "You're a little suck up," she said. "Let's get one thing straight, brother dear," she said, picking the rat up by the tail and holding it in the air. "I'm the kind of girl that likes holding other people to my standards, not the other way around," she said, watching the little rat squirm and try to get free. "And if they don't live up to my standards, you know what I do to them?" she asked, icy vapor coming into her mouth. She blasted the rat with ice, freezing it solid, getting a gasp from her brother as she sneered.

"You're just plain rotten," said Pyrus, with a growl, appalled by his sister.

Cyros chuckled at that. "I wouldn't say rotten," she said. "It's a dog eat dog world, kiddy," she replied, dropping the frozen rat into her mouth and swallowing it. "I'm just ahead of the curve."

Pyrus gagged. "Oh gross! You're disgusting!" he exclaimed, looking sickened.

"What?" asked Cyros, smiling that she'd disgusted her brother. "We're dragons, we're carnivores."

"You just ate a rat whole!" replied Pyrus, feeling sick to his stomach. "Do you even know where that thing has been?"

Deadlock opened the door and walked out, looking concerned. "What's all the noise out here?" asked the ice head.

"Yes, we're busy," replied the fire head.

The electric head saw Pyrus looking ill. "Oh sweetie, you look sick," she said, nuzzling Pyrus. "Are you fevered?" she asked concerned.

"No…" said Pyrus, a little embarrassed but happy to have his mother's attention. "Just feel a little sick to the stomach…"

All three heads looked a bit concerned. "Well dear, let's get you some herbs for that, shall we?" asked the ice head.

"Yes, the solar eclipse isn't for a good time, our preparations can wait," said the electric head. "Nothing is more important than our babies. Besides the solar eclipse is awhile yet."

"Solar eclipse?" asked Pyrus, confused and a little scared. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing for you to be concerned about, our little prince. Its just the final part of a plan we've been working on for quite some time, but it's still a long while yet. We've got plenty of time," said the ice head, trying to reassure him. "Let's go get you those herbs," she said, Deadlock leading him off after closing the door.

Cyros snarled at the attention her brother got. "'Oh, it's just the final part of a long plan, but it can wait! Pyrus is so special! He's our little crown prince!'" she mocked. "Rotten little goodie goodie," she snarled. However, she then got a thoughtful look. "Mom has been really busy lately…too busy to pay attention to little Pyrus all the time…" she said, getting an evil smirk. "Maybe its time I start a plan of my own," she said, thinking devilishly. She headed back to her room to give it some thought.

* * *

Ember was fast asleep on the Leviathan's back, Spyro and Cynder together nearby. "I still don't know it it's a good idea having her here…" said Cynder, still upset with Ember's flirting. "I'm afraid if she keeps flirting with you, I'll snap."

"Cynder, I know its hard," said Spyro. "But she didn't see any other dragon besides her mother for 24 years. I don't think she's meaning to cause trouble, she just doesn't know any better."

Cynder sighed. "Yeah…I can sympathize a bit with that," she said. "Apes didn't exactly teach me a lot of social skills…" she muttered, Spyro and the Guardians having had to teach her a lot about how to interact with others.

Spyro nodded. "And I don't want to hurt her," he said. "It's not her fault, I don't think she deserves to get hurt for something she doesn't really understand."

Cynder looked at Ember's sleeping form. "Yeah…I like her, she's a friend…she just gets irritating sometimes," she explained. She then looked a bit concerned. "I am worried though, she's already worn out from all this flying. We needed rest, she needed sleep from it. She's never been in this situation before and to be honest, I'm not sure she's ready for it…"

"You're like me and Sparx," said Spyro, smiling as he saw a comparison.

Cynder and Sparx both blinked and looked at each other in confusion. "What do you mean, Spyro?" asked Cynder, unsure.

"Well me and Sparx are brothers, we care about each other a lot," said Spyro, looking to his adopted brother. "But Sparx can really annoy me sometimes…that doesn't change the fact he's my brother and I care about him though."

Sparx smiled. "Well…I care about you too," he replied. "But only I'm annoying? Don't think you don't annoy me too!"

Spyro chuckled at that. "Anyway, Ember and you seem to be like sisters to some degree. She looks up to you, you care about each other somewhat, but she can still get on your nerves at times."

Cynder gave it some though, then nodded. "Yeah…like an annoying little sister," she said, looking back to Ember. "…Maybe I do have a family after all…"

Spyro nodded. "Speaking of Ember…did you notice something strange about her fire?" he asked, deciding now might be a good time to ask about that curious trait.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot more controlled than your's, I guess she's just good at it."

"Maybe, I've just never seen fire like hers…its weird," said Spyro, curious about that.

"Hey, there's the island!" said Sparx, pointing it out in the distance.

Cynder nodded, seeing White Isle for the first time. "Wow, impressive," she said. "Guy sure knows how to isolate himself, doesn't he?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.

Spyro nodded. "If he was easy to find, we'd not have gotten lost," he remarked. "Its because he has to guard those books. They contain the entire history of the world, they have to be protected."

Sparx nodded. "Well should we wake Pinky?" he asked, pointing to Ember.

"Yeah, why don't you?" asked Cynder.

"Why me?" asked Sparx, confused.

"You're loud enough to," replied Cynder with a smirk. She decided giving Sparx more of his own medicine might be a good thing.

Sparx muttered and flew over to Ember. "Hey Pinky! Wake up!" he yelled in her ear.

Ember screamed and jumped up, breathing fire on reflex. Sparx managed to dodge, but was singed from the fire. Ember looked rather sheepishly in response. "Sorry…"

"Sorry! You almost-" started Sparx, but was interrupted by Cynder walking over.

"We're here," said Cynder, trying to be more kind to Ember. "Get ready, from what Spyro said, this won't be easy."

Ember nodded. "Alright, I'm ready," she said, stretching and getting ready to fight, not noticing Sparx putting out a small fire on his head.

* * *

They soon were onshore, the Leviathan swimming away. "Thanks again, whatever you're called!" yelled Sparx, waving.

"Alright, let's go," said Spyro, leading the way. However, much to his surprise, the going was easier. While they hadn't reached a part were they'd run into enemies, a lot of the harder areas of the trial were gone, making it a relatively straightforward path.

"What's going on?" asked Sparx after awhile. "Shouldn't there have been weird traps or something by now?"

"I don't know…" said Spyro.

"Well new Chronicler, maybe he's got a different set up," suggested Cynder.

Spyro nodded, thinking on that. "Yeah, it would make sense…" he said, continuing along the path. "Plus, I don't have Dragon Time anymore, so I guess he removed the parts that I needed it for."

"Plus we can fly now, I guess that would make a lot of the challenges pretty silly wouldn't it?" asked Ember, having been told some about White Isle in stories she'd heard of Spyro.

"So I guess the big guy shut off the security system…" said Sparx. "Well that's a relief! Nothing is going to try and kill us!" he said, then cringed and covered his head, waiting.

"What are you doing?" asked Cynder, confused.

"I just tempted fate, that's normally when something tries to kill us!" said Sparx, looking around. "Hmm…guess I was wrong…" he said, flying backwards and not noticing he ran into a statue of a warrior wielding a sword and shield, which slowly came to life and looked down at him.

"Uh…Sparx…" said Cynder, watching as the stone soldier begin moving.

Sparx sighed. "There's something scary right behind me, isn't there?" he asked, getting nods, then looking back and screaming before running as it swung its sword at him, missing. Two more standing next to it came to life as well, joining their comrade.

"You had to open your big mouth, didn't you?" asked Cynder, dodging a slash herself, then blasting one of the soldiers back with her poison breath. It staggered back and had its shield melted, causing it to throw it away and counterattack with a slash of its sword, only to be blocked by Cynder's tail blade. Thinking quickly, she coated her tail in poison, melting through the blade. As the soldier was taken off guard by her attack, she spun around, generating a tornado around herself and tossing it around before slamming it hard into a wall, shattering it to pieces, gems left behind.

Ember flew up and slammed into one's shield with her Comet Dash, forcing it back and cracking the shield. She quickly dodged a counterattack of its sword and launched a torrent of flames into its face, causing it to stagger back. Before it could counter or raise its shield to block, she flew forwards and slashed it repeatedly with her claws, defeating it and causing it to shatter.

Spyro charged forwards and caught one in the knee with his horns, forcing it to the ground. He leapt on it and slashed it several times with his claws, but was forced back by a slash of its sword. The soldier rose and charged with its sword, but he dodged and formed a flail of earth energy before slamming it into the soldier's shield, shattering it. With the shield gone, Spyro let loose a stream of ice from his mouth, freezing it solid before blasting it with a missile of rock from his mouth, shattering it to pieces.

"Well I guess he just made it so we could all make the passage but didn't take out the enemies," said Spyro, smashing some gems and absorbing them to replenish his energy, the girls doing the same.

Ember nodded. "I guess he can't leave the place unguarded, there are probably lots nasty people who'd try to steal his books."

Cynder sighed. "Well, can't blame the guy though. Those books are this world's history after all."

Spyro nodded. "Let's move along, keep your eyes open," he cautioned before the group moved forwards. Seeing no enemies at the moment Spyro decided it might be a good time to ask her about before. "Ember, did you notice your fire seems a lot more controlled than mine?"

Ember blinked, as if thinking. After a second, she nodded. "Yeah, I noticed, why?"

"Well I'm just curious why its like that, I've never seen anyone with fire like yours, even mine," said Spyro, curious. Cynder listened as well.

Ember looked a little confused, like she thought it was no big deal. "Well my mom didn't know much about fire, just the very basics," she explained. "So I had to practice a lot all by myself, so I watched real fire a lot to figure it out…" she continued. "And I mean like fire started by lightning and stuff. I didn't have much else to do but practice so I did that a lot," she continued. "That's where I learned lots of neat things about fire, though some nice dragons at the temple helped me learn Comet Dash and the other stuff."

Spyro nodded. "So you learned from natural fire instead of from dragons?" he asked, thinking about it.

Ember nodded in reply. "Yep, why? Is it weird?"

Spyro blinked. "Well because most dragons are taught how to use our fire by other dragons. I guess you've got so much control over it because you learned right from the fire itself instead," he explained, which made sense. Dragons knew how their own generated fire behaved, Ember had learned from how pure fire behaved and worked. Even he ended up learning from Ignitus, all he did on his own was figure out how to burn things with his breath. "It's actually kind of cool."

Ember nodded, getting hot under the scales at Spyro's statements. "Aww, thanks Spyro! You're cool too," she said, in her normal, flirtatious tone as she got closer to him.

Cynder once again suppressed a growl, so as not to hurt Ember's feelings. She didn't want to hurt Ember, naturally, but man that tone of voice got on her nerves! "Anyway, we'd best move on, shouldn't we?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Spyro scooted uncomfortably away from Ember. "Yeah, good idea," he said, heading forwards. They soon ran into more of the stone soldiers, but as before dealt with them rather quickly. "This is a lot easier with the three of us together."

"Don't say that!" said Sparx quickly. "You say that and it _will_ get harder, it always does," he said, right as he said so, a being composed of living fire approached and tried to attack. "See! Told you so! Now we've got a fire monster!"

Spyro was knocked back and burned slightly by a blow from the fire warrior, he wasn't sure what these things were but knew that they could be physically hurt at least. He let loose a blast of icy shards from his mouth, forcing it backwards. "Don't worry, Ember, fire still works on this thing," he stated, knowing that wasn't very obvious.

Ember nodded and fired a compact sphere of fire from her mouth, which let loose a large explosion of fire, blasting it backwards, allowing Cynder to get off a blast of poison into its face, or where she thought its face was. The creature counterattacked by striking both back with a punch, stronger than its stone cousins.

"This thing is pretty tough…" said Ember, shaking off the blow. She then thought of something. "Hey, I've got an idea, hang back," she said, taking off and breathing a stream of flames into the ground around the monster, trapping it in a ring of fire. Surprisingly, this seemed to weaken the creature, causing its flames to die down considerably and then completely, causing it to die and leave behind nothing but gems.

Cynder blinked. "What happened?"

"I know a few things about fire," said Ember, glad it had worked. "Fire needs air just like us. When two fires are together, the bigger one eats up all the air. That chokes out the little one."

"Wow, that's pretty smart, Ember," said Cynder, impressed. Ember may have been childish in personality, but she was smarter than she appeared.

Ember smiled. "Thanks, Cynder, that means a lot," she said, flattered one of her heroes had given her a compliment.

The group moved on, soon coming into a hall way full of statues firing beams and strafing the hall in a set pattern. "Ok, don't get hit by those, they really hurt," warned Spyro, remembering well.

Ember nodded, trying to head forwards and getting hit in the wing, forcing her back. "Ow! That hurt!" she cried, shaking her wing to make the pain stop. "They're too fast," she said with a childish whimper.

"Well I did have Dragon Time before," said Spyro, remembering that.

Cynder looked the hallway over. "Wait…" she said. "Lets just fly over them, that'd be easier, right?" she asked, taking off and flying over the beams, though ended up having to dodge several times as they came up much higher than she assumed. "Ok, you next."

Spyro nodded and followed suit, making it through but likewise having to dodge more frequently than he would've liked.. However, Ember's hurt wing made her too slow, and she was forced back. "I can't do it! My wing hurts too much!" she called, the pain making it hard to fly.

Cynder looked concerned, knowing Ember was in trouble. She then had a thought as she looked at the beams. "Spyro, make some ice shards, ok?" she asked, Spyro nodded and did as requested, depositing a large group of ice shards on the ground next to them with his breath. "Alright, Ember! Try again, I'll cover you, ok?" she asked, seriously. "You can trust me!"

Ember nodded slowly and spread her wings, taking off and trying to make it through the beams. As Ember approached the beams, Cynder threw an ice shard up and blasted it with her wind breath, launching it into the beam. The crystal-like ice reflected the beam enough for Ember to slip through. Cynder quickly did this several more times, managing to get Ember past the beams and to safety.

"Wow, Cynder, you're just as smart as the stories said," said a grateful Ember, resting her sore wing.

Cynder blinked. "You really think so?"

Ember nodded. "You did come up with the plan to stop that nasty Destroyer, didn't you? If Malefor hadn't cheated, that would've let you kicked its tail."

Cynder smiled. "Thanks. As much as I hate to admit it, I did get military training out of my slavery to Malefor."

Ember nodded in agreement. "Well he gave you those tricks, why not use them, right?"

Cynder chuckled. "That's a good way to look at it," she said, truly meaning that. It really was a good way of looking at it, and exactly what she'd done. Her powers and skills were the ones Malefor had given her, she kept them after being freed, so why not use them to their fullest? "Anyway, let's go."

* * *

The group soon came upon the temple that was the Chronicler's home. However, unlike last time, the door was wide open. "That's strange," said Sparx. "No creepy voice telling you to face a test?" he asked, looking around. "But I'm not tempting fate this time, no way."

"I guess he just trusts us more," said Spyro. "He must have shut it off or something," he continued. "Let's head inside."

With that, the group slowly moved into the temple. "Great…but I still think something is going to try and kill us," said Sparx, following along.

* * *

Another chapter down! Just what is Cryos planning? And I wonder what all Ember can do with her special fire? See you next time!


	9. What You Fear Most

Hey guys! New chapter. Today, our heroes have to face their fears...well most of them, you'll see more down below. I changed this test a tad because I honestly didn't like at all how the Elemental Dragon was handled, since it was meant to be Spyro's worst fear and yet didn't really seem to capture his fear of Cynder very well. Anyway, we find out more about Ember and the moment you've been waiting for, Spyro and Cynder meet the Chronicler! Enjoy!

* * *

**What You Fear Most**

The group finally made it to a large chamber, in front of a large glowing area on the floor surrounded by candles. "This is were I had to face my worst fear last time…" Spyro said, looking around. "But those doors were open and there were paths through them to different challenges," he said, referring to four elementally colored doors around the area.

"Maybe he didn't have enough doors to put Cynder's elements in?" asked Ember, smashing a large gem nearby with her tail to heal her wounds, Spyro and Cynder doing the same. "And wanted to be fair?"

Spyro shrugged. "I guess, that makes sense."

"_One of you this trial has passed. Only those who have not come here must face the test. Your worst fear you both share, so you must face it as a pair_. _Open heart to summon ghost, face together what you fear most,_" said a soft, female voice.

"Well Spyro, looks like you and I get to relax this time," said Sparx, glad about that, he didn't like being alone in this room. He laid down on Spyro's head, causing Spyro to buck him off in mild irritation.

"We have the same worst fear?" asked Cynder, surprised. It was obvious the voice meant her and Ember. And she thought she knew her own…so why would Ember fear the same thing she did?

"I…I don't know," said Ember, looking ashamed of her fear.

"You better hurry," said Spyro. "We have to get to the Chronicler and find out what Deadlock is up to."

Cynder sighed. "Alright, Ember, lets do it."

Ember nodded, though hesitantly, as the two dragonesses slowly entering the light.

* * *

The two found themselves in an alien landscape, one Ember had never seen before. One with a vast expanse in all directions, worlds floating in the void as they stood on a floating land mass. "Where are we?" asked Ember, confused. "This place is silly," she said, watching a big, weird jellyfish like creature float by.

Cynder knew this place…new it very well. "Convexity…or a copy of it…" she said, looking around. "That means…oh no…"

"Well well, look what we have here," said a voice behind them, one that made Cynder's blood run cold.

The two spun around to find an incarnation of Cynder's evil adult self towering over them. Unlike the Elemental Dragon Spyro had faced, this one was an exact likeness of the original. Apparently the Chronicler had chosen to make it more realistic this time for some reason. "Ember…you're afraid of…" started Cynder, shocked. Cynder was afraid of Dark Cynder because she was terrified of turning back into her…why was Ember so afraid?

Ember looked ashamed at what her worst fear was, knowing it probably hurt Cynder to know it. Dark Cynder gave a laugh at this. "Yeah, that's right, Cynder, she's afraid you," she said, showing sadistic pleasure in rubbing salt in the wound. "Just like everyone else," she mocked, giving another laugh as Cynder looked down in pain and confusion, unsure what to think. "It's a hard world, isn't it?" she asked, looking down at Cynder. "You try your best to save it and all they do is fear you. Now you know why I was trying to destroy it with Malefor. No matter what you do, they always think you're a monster. And you know in your heart they're right. You and me are the same and we always will be. Everything I've done, all the dragons I've killed, you're just as responsible for it as I am!"

Cynder tried to not listen but her own self-doubt overshadowing that. It wasn't just her fear of turning evil again that the 'ghost' was playing on, it was her fear that she really was responsible for what Dark Cynder did. "Y-you're lying! Y-you're just trying to scare me!"

"Am I, Cynder?" asked Dark Cynder, circling her good self like a shark. "I don't have to scare you, you're scared of yourself. Pitiful, isn't it? But then again, you've always been the weaker of the two of us. You're weak willed, weak spirited, and most of all, too weak to protect anyone!" she snapped, that line hitting Cynder particularly hard. "You're not going to be able to protect Spyro, that pink prick over there, or even your precious little egg! And its because you're a weakling! Because of you, your egg could end up just like me," she said, giving a sinister laugh.

"Stop it!" yelled Ember, having heard enough. "I'm scared…but I'm not afraid of Cynder! It's you I'm afraid of!" she yelled, standing between Cynder and Dark Cynder.

Cynder looked up in surprise, tears in her eyes from the verbal assault present. It seemed her worst fears were all a part of this Dark Cynder, so naturally she was badly effected by it. "You're…you're not afraid of me, Ember?" she asked, confused. The idea a close friend was really afraid of her was a major blow to her but apparently, she didn't know why Dark Cynder was Ember's worst fear after all.

Ember shook her head. "No…I'm scared of the stories I heard from my dad's letters of her…and I'm scared of my best friend turning back into that monster…" she admitted, still ashamed, mostly due to the latter. "But I'm not afraid of you, Cynder…"

"Well too bad!" snapped Dark Cynder, turning her attention towards Ember. "You think I'm gone, kid?" she asked, smiling sadistically as she started diving into Ember's own fears. "I'm not, I'm locked up deep in your little friend's head, just looking for a chance to break out," she taunted. "For all you know, she could turn on you and kill you in a moments notice!" she growled, getting up in front of Ember and making her back away. "And you don't belong here, little girl. You're in way over your little head. Spyro and Cynder, they're strong, I'll admit that. They saved the world, what have you done?" she mocked, smacking Ember aside with her tail, now playing on another one of Ember's insecurities. As it'd been said, this was what they feared most, not just their fear of Dark Cynder. "You're just a little kid, you don't deserve to be Fire Guardian and you don't belong here," she taunted, Ember covering her ears and trying not to listen, almost crying. "I take that back, you're not a kid. Any child could tell you you've got no business to be on this little adventure. What's wrong, miss your mommy?" she asked, grabbing Ember's head in her claw and forcing her to look at her. "Well you're in the real world now, there's no mommies here to look after you. If you can't stand on your own four feet, you should go running home like the little hatchling you are."

"Maybe you are inside me…but I'm not you!" yelled Cynder, using a poison coated tail blade to slash Dark Cynder's face and force her back, then stood between her and Ember. "And Ember may get on my nerves sometimes…but she's still my friend, I'd never hurt her if I could help it! And you're wrong, she's not weak. She was strong enough to stand up to you when you had me down, wasn't she?" she yelled. "I know you're in my head, but that's the only place you'll ever go again! I'm never going to let you get out!"

Ember smiled. "Thanks Cynder," she said, as the black Dragoness helped her to her feet. "You're a real friend," she said, grateful to Cynder for standing up for her.

Dark Cynder chuckled. "How sweet, you two are helping each other," she said. "It'd touch my heart, if I had one. You two are both lying to yourselves and each other, there's no such thing as friends. In this world, there's no one you can trust except yourselves. Every creature in this miserable world has to look out for itself and if you think anyone else will look out for you, you're a fool."

"You're wrong," said Cynder. "I trust Spyro, I trust all my friends…and they trust me!"

"Yeah!" replied Ember. "And you're the only untrustworthy thing here! You…you…you big meanie!" she yelled, showing her childish nature.

The two both looked at Dark Cynder and snarled before blasting her with poison and fire breath respectively. Their attacks struck Dark Cynder and drove her back, but didn't do much damage, merely surprised her. "Persistent, aren't you?" she asked. "I'm going to enjoy this," she said, taking a battle stance.

"So am I," said Cynder, actually finding herself liking the fact she was facing her dark side somewhat. For 12 years she'd had to deal with this monster's influence, now she could prove she had the strength to overcome it. "I can finally take some payback for all the awful things you made me do!"

Ember nodded, but was more afraid than her partner was due to her childish nature. "You're not going to win! We'll kick your tail!"

"We'll see about that," said Dark Cynder, slashing at both with her wing claws but being dodged. However, she took advantage by swinging her tail around and smacking them across the platform with it. Before they could get up, she lunged at them with a slash of her claws but the two smaller dragons managed to dodge and take flight, strafing her and blasting her with fire and poison. "Annoying insects!" the Terror of the Skies roared, spreading her massive wings and taking off as well, letting loose a stream of dark fire and blasting them both to the ground before coming back around and blasting at them again, burning them both. "Ready to give up yet?"

"No way!" yelled Ember, staggering to her feet. "I'll never give up and let my friends down!" she yelled, determined. She then launched a fire ball at Dark Cynder, but was blocked by her wing.

Dark Cynder scoffed. "A baby Guardian thinks she can beat me? How cute," she said with a chuckle. "I beat all four of the Guardians!" she yelled, swinging her tail down and trying to slash Ember with her tail blade but found herself pulling it back rather fast when Cynder blasted her skin with poison.

"She may be a young Guardian, but don't forget she's not alone!" yelled Cynder, smiling to her friend to reassure her.

"Why are you protecting that little annoyance for?" asked Dark Cynder, snarling with rage. "All she does is irritate you!"

Cynder chuckled. "I forgot, you can't feel anything but hate and anger," she said. "You know, I think I actually pity you," she said, giving a smirk. "You'll never feel true happiness or love, what its like to protect someone else. You'll never know how good feels to do the right thing, because you can't ever feel it."

Ember nodded. "Sounds like you're the pathetic one," she added. "Must be a sad life to only know being a toy of Malefor."

Dark Cynder snarled and pounced, trying to slash them, but the two little dragonesses dodged her. "Shut up!" she yelled, swinging around and trying to slash them with her tail blade, only to once more be evaded and driven back by a stream of fire and wind. Dark Cynder seemed to be weakening for some reason.

"She looks like she's getting weaker…why?" asked Ember, confused.

Cynder was confused as well, but then remembered something. "It's what we fear most. The less fear we have of her, the less powerful she is," she said. "But don't take your guard down, she's still dangerous."

"Yes, and don't forget it," growled Dark Cynder, taking flight and raining fireballs down on the two, managing to inflict some damage before they too took to the sky.

"Ember, you know how to do a Fire Fury?" asked Cynder, dodging a fire ball.

Ember nodded, barrel rolling to evade an attack. "Yeah, I do," she replied. "If you can keep her busy while I get ready."

Cynder nodded, flying forwards and latching onto Dark Cynder's neck, slashing into it. "Get off!" yelled Dark Cynder, flailing wildly and trying to get Cynder off back.

While Cynder had her evil counterpart busy, Ember landed nearby and concentrated, closing her eyes, fire beginning to surge around her as she floated into the air, charging up the power. "Now Cynder!" yelled Ember from within her pillar of flames.

Cynder let go of Dark Cynder and flew off right before Ember let loose a concentrated explosion of flames. Like all her fire attacks, it was more controlled and concentrated, into a more compacted shockwave. Dark Cynder gasped as the force of the shockwave struck her in the chest and sent her flying backwards, badly burning her. However, she was still able to remain airborne, but before she could recover, Cynder decided she needed to take her turn. She concentrated, glowing with a purple aura before letting loose a purple beam of energy from her mouth at her dark counterpart.

Dark Cynder looked up just in time for Cynder's Convexity Breath to tear through her wing membrane and be strafe across, hitting her in the chest and blasting her backwards. Dark Cynder screamed as the blast knocked her off the edge of the platform. With her badly damaged wing, she couldn't fly and fell into the abyss below, causing the illusion to shatter.

* * *

"What happened?" asked Ember, confused as she looked around, finding her and Cynder back in the room they started in. "Did we win?"

"Yeah, we did," said Cynder, panting. In all honesty, she felt like she had a huge weight lifted off her. She'd beaten her evil side, literally. She now knew she was stronger than it was and could resist it…with some help from her friends, of course. "Ember…thanks…and don't worry, I could never hurt a friend on purpose, even if you do irritate me sometimes. And I meant it, even the Guardians had trouble standing up to Dark Cynder out of fear of her. You standing up to her makes you one of the strongest Dragons I know."

Ember nodded. "Yeah…" she said, smiling. "I'm sorry about that…but I wasn't lying, you really are my best friend…" she explained. "And you're the strongest dragon I've ever met, no matter what your fears say."

Cynder smiled back. "Thanks, but think of me more like a big sister, ok?" she asked, actually liking the idea. She understood Ember's fears now. Ember was insecure about her strength and was afraid she didn't belong with Spyro and Cynder on this mission. Now that Cynder knew, she could help her more. She couldn't help but think the Chronicler planned that they do it together to help them bond as friends.

Ember gasped. "R-really?" she asked, surprised one of her heroes would request something like that.

Cynder nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it's more fitting for how we get along."

"Wow, you did it!" said Spyro. "Good job," he said, stepping onto the platform with Sparx. "That was some fight, who knew you'd make such a good team…" he said, before being teleported away by the portal.

* * *

They found themselves inside a large library, the walls lined with books, a large hourglass in the center. "The Chronicler's lair," said Spyro, taking a look around. "Long time no see."

"Wow!" said Ember, her and Cynder looking around in amazement. "Is the entire history of the Dragon Realms here?" she asked, looking all around in amazement.

"Yep," said Sparx. "Lots of weird magical books and a creepy dragon who is obsessed with fate."

"Well nearly all of the history," corrected Spyro. "And be nice, Sparx. That was the old Chronicler anyway."

"Welcome to my home," said the Chronicler, the large dragon hiding in the shadows of the room with only his eyes visible. "Well done, young dragons. I made the spirit take on a more accurate form in order to let those taking the test defeat their own inner demons more directly," he explained. "I found the last incarnation a big lacking in that respect."

Cynder nodded. "It really did help out, I feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders," she said, grateful for the chance to put one of her inner demons to rest at last. Ember nodded, feeling the same way. Cynder then blinked, confused by the voice. "Wait, I know I've heard your voice before…" she said. "You sound…familiar…"

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, I know, have we met?"

The Chronicler smiled. "Yes…indeed we have," he said, walking out of the shadows to reveal himself as Ignitus, now dressed as the Chronicler and adorned with blue scales instead of his old reddish-orange ones.

Spyro and Cynder's jaws dropped in shock. "Ignitus? Is it really you?" asked Spyro, unable to believe his eyes and feeling like his heart would burst right out of his chest. He hadn't seen Ignitus in 9 years, and last time had been Ignitus dying in the Ring of Fire. He couldn't really believe his eyes.

Cynder was equally as shocked and dumbfounded. "You're…you're alive…" she said, unable to think of anything else she could say.

Ignitus nodded slowly. "Its me," he said, smiling and happy to see the dragons he'd mentored again.

Spyro and Cynder couldn't keep tears out of their eyes and ran up to Ignitus, hugging him tightly. "Ignitus…I've missed you so much…" said Spyro, for the moment feeling happy as he could be. Cynder nodded in agreement, feeling much the same.

Ignitus hugged them back. "I missed you both as well…" he replied, willing to spare the time to be reunited with two dragons he deeply cared for.

Sparx continued to watch with Ember. "Whoa, didn't see that coming…" said Sparx, shocked.

* * *

Cyros laid on her back in her room at Serpent's Edge, looking up at the ceiling as she strummed on an very ornately designed guitar made for her by the Naga as a gift. She slowly plucked each string, getting a tune. She continued and started a slow song. "_Rock-a-by little prince so far up top. When my destiny shows, your world will rock,"_ she sang slowly, the song more menacing and creepy in her tone than one would expect from a child's lullaby. She set her guitar down and walked over to a painted picture of herself, Deadlock, and Pyrus, when they were much younger. They actually looked like a fairly happy family, a stark contrast from how things were now. "_Someday your lucky streak will break and your pedestal will fall…"_ Cyros sung as put her claw under the picture of Pyrus' head. She then smirked sadistically as she cut the picture's throat.

"_And down will come Pyrus, then I'll have it all!"_ Cyros finished, laughing cruelly.

* * *

Oh my, that was a bit of mood whiplash, wasn't it? Yeah, Ember and Cynder have the same worst fear, who'd have thought? Next chapter, we'll have a number of reveals and important info, including a look into the past of our main villainess. See you then!


	10. Truths

Hello everyone, time for a new chapter! Trying to work my way back to updating on saturdays. Anyway, today...well it's pretty much a boatload of new information on many of the characters. Now I'll say this, one of the ways I've chosen to do things is probably a lot different than how most people do it, that's because I don't like doing things like most people, thus why Ember's character is nothing like how most describe her (though the other part is I'm sick of people making Cynder and Ember instant enemies). Another thing is how I portray Ignitus. Pretty much, I'm trying to show Ignitus finally being mostly at peace, something we never saw in the games. So please, tell me what you think! Enjoy!

* * *

**Truths**

Spyro hugged Ignitus tightly, afraid this was a dream. Tears flowed from his eyes as he looked up at his mentor. "I thought I'd never see you again!" he exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. Ignitus' death had hit him so hard, it was little surprise he was overjoyed to see Ignitus alive again.

"Yeah, no offense big guy, but didn't you kind of die?" asked Sparx, bluntly.

Ignitus smiled, not taking any offense as he was both used to Sparx and saw no reason to be upset about it. After all, he was in a much greater position to assist Spyro and Cynder than he ever could in life because of his death and rebirth. "I did," he replied to Sparx. "But when the previous Chronicler retired, he chose me to take his place. I was restored to life and inherited all his powers," he continued, a much happier soul now than he was in life. Little surprise, as he'd made amends for his failures with his sacrifice and the war with Malefor was finished,. "I've been watching over you all ever since."

Cynder tried to force back her own joyful tears but finally gave up on that. "It's good to see you again. We've had a hard go of it since Deadlock attacked," she explained. "Its nice to finally have some good news."

Ember slowly walked up to Ignitus. "Hi, Mr. Ignitus…" she said, shyly. "I'm Ember…I've heard a lot about you, it's really nice to finally meet you," she continued, nervous. She was meeting her predecessor whom was held in a very high regard by everyone, it wasn't a surprise she was a little unnerved.

Ignitus put a paw on Ember's back. "Hello, Ember. I'm glad to see you as well, finding out you were still alive was a huge relief," he explained, truthful. As one who'd blamed themselves so heavily for what had happened, finding out there'd been more survivors had taken a huge weight off his shoulders. "Finding out that any more eggs survived than I thought was, especially that you weren't the only one."

Spyro blinked. "Wait…there are more dragons from our year still alive?"

Ignitus nodded. "That's right, I've discovered at least three, Ember included," he explained. "But I'm afraid I'm not used to my powers yet, you see each dragon has a book here," he continued, pointing to the shelves. "To find dragons who survived the raid, I have to find their books, and I don't know where to start," he explained, somewhat embarrassed. "I'm this era's Chronicler, I don't have as much knowledge about the previous one as I do about my own."

Cynder looked quite surprised. "Wait, three? What about the other two?"

Ignitus sighed. "I'm sorry, I haven't found their books yet. As I said, I'm quite limited in my knowledge of the previous era. I've only found that they _aren't_ in the Book of Dragon Deaths. However, I was able to receive a vision and discovered they're in the Unknown Realms. How they got there has not yet been revealed to me."

"Maybe we'll find them while we're there!" said Ember, rather excited. This was a major thing after all, and one that made her quite ecstatic.

Cynder nodded. "That would be great, wouldn't it?" she asked. "It'd sure help with our journey."

"I should probably tell you more about that journey," said Ignitus, somewhat embarrassed. "In my excitement I got sidetracked."

Sparx scratched his head. "Is it just me, or are you like twenty times happier than you used to be?"

Ignitus smiled. "When I died, I made amends for my failings and I've had nine years to make peace with myself," he said, looking at the dragonfly. Nine years in peaceful solitude to contemplate your life can do wonders for someone. "Now, back to the matter at hand," he said. "Young dragons, Deadlock's plan is to use the eggs she's stolen in a dark magic ritual on the next solar eclipse, which is very soon," he explained, becoming serious in tone and voice. "The books haven't yet allowed me to see what she's intending or what might happen, but even she might not know that entirely."

Spyro looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Ignitus looked very concerned. "Dark magic is not to be taken lightly. Even Deadlock might not be completely sure what the side effects her spell will have; for her and the eggs. Dark magic is forbidden for a reason: it's never worth its price. I can assure you, whatever Deadlock has intended for those eggs is not worth the cost of using that spell."

Cynder looked worried, prompting a nuzzle from Spyro. "We'll stop her in time, I promise," said Spyro, worried as well, but wanting to consol Cynder more.

Cynder nodded. "I just couldn't handle losing the baby…" she said. "You and it are the only family I've ever had…" she said, then remembered something. The nightmare, what Deadlock had said…they hadn't been sure then…now they could be. Did she want to know if she killed her own mother? No, not really…but she had to. She had to know to be able to be able to rest her mind. "Ignitus…there's something else I have to ask you…" she said, getting Ignitus' attention. "Deadlock showed me a dream where I…I killed my mother as Dark Cynder…" she said, trying to avoid getting too emotional. "Is it true?"

Ignitus looked saddened, as if that hit him particularly hard. It didn't seem like he just didn't want to tell Cynder the truth, it seemed much more than that. "Cynder…I'm sorry…it's the truth," he solemnly explained. "Her name was Nova…"

Cynder sunk down, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I killed really did her?" she asked, feeling like she'd been punched in the gut. Spyro quickly nuzzled her to try and comfort his mate, but it didn't help and darkness began to spread again.

"Cynder…Nova loved you," said Ignitus, reassuring her, now showing a much more caring side as he lifted up Cynder's head with his paw so he could see her eyes and vice versa. He knew with Cynder's condition, she couldn't be allowed to sink into depression and he had to cheer her quickly. "She never stopped telling us that you were good under Malefor's darkness…and I knew her better than anyone else," he explained, seeming to know Nova quite well. "Cynder…when I was in the afterlife, I saw her and she told me she could never be more proud of you than she already was."

Cynder looked surprised. "S-she said that?" she asked, confused. Nova still loved her even after she'd killed her? It seemed unreal. Still, it was enough to consol her somewhat and make the darkness retreat for the time being.

Ignitus nodded. He then looked conflicted, like a part of him wanted to tell Cynder something and the other part didn't. "…Cynder…your father is also proud of you…"

Cynder blinked. "My father?" she asked, surprised. Her head was spinning and she didn't know how she felt at the moment. "Y-you knew my father."

"No, Cynder," said Ignitus, giving a smile, finally deciding. "I know he's proud of you…because Nova was my wife," he said, using a clearer word than mate for the socially naïve Ember's sake.

Everyone gasped at the revelation. "But if she's your wife then you're…" said Ember, shocked.

Ignitus nodded. "Cynder's father…" he said, looking both happy to have finally revealed it and sad for some reason.

Sparx rubbed his head nervously. "Well…I defiantly didn't see that coming…"

Cynder didn't know how to reply. She froze up and had to reboot, trying to process this new revelation. "You're…you're my father?" she asked finally, still shocked and unsure of how to reply. "But why didn't you tell me?" she asked, not certain why she'd never been told. It made her a little upset he never told her during her time at the temple or during the war with the Dark Master.

Ignitus looked quite guilty. "Because…I felt I didn't deserve to be called your father…" he said, looking away in shame. "I knew it was your egg that was stolen, saw the Apes make off with it with my own eyes, but was stopped from saving it…I knew where it had been taken to and Nova wanted to rescue you but I kept telling her it was too dangerous…if I'd been a real father, I'd have charged Gaul's palace without a second thought and reclaimed my child," he said, unable to look Cynder in the eye. "I never told you because I was…I am ashamed of myself for that…" he explained, sorrow heavy in the old dragon's voice. He'd forgiven himself for a great many things after these nine years. He'd even managed to move on when it came to the temple disaster, but letting his daughter be taken and doing nothing about it was something he could never forgive himself for. "I failed to protect you…it would've felt wrong to be called your father after that."

Cynder looked up at her father, unable to stand him being in such pain for her sake. "Ignitus…you were like a father to me and Spyro, you were always there when we needed you…there's no one I'd rather call my father than you," she said, looking up at Ignitus' face.

Ignitus blinked, a smile creeping onto his face as he looked down at his daughter. "Cynder…I'm so sorry I hid this from you…" he replied, sincerely. "But now you know and know this as well…I love you and couldn't be more proud."

Cynder's eyes teared up at this. She reached up and nuzzled Ignitus. "I love you too…" she said, overjoyed and crying from her happiness. "And you do deserve to be called my father…and I'm proud to call you that…" she said, feeling so happy to be able to do that. She was happy to have a father to love. Even if she just now found out the truth, she didn't feel like it was all that strange. He'd been like a father to all of them, she had no problem calling him hers. Like she'd said before, she'd had no family beside Spyro and that egg…now she could add a father to that list. It was like a void in her was filled…

Spyro smiled, then looked to Sparx, finding the little dragonfly crying. "Are you crying, Sparx?"

"No!" said Sparx, rubbing his eyes. "Just something in my eye is all!"

Ember smiled, happy to see Cynder reunited with her father and knowing she had one who loved her. But that thought reminded Ember of what she'd wanted to ask the Chronicler. She prepared to ask when Cynder spoke.

"Ignitus…I mean dad," said Cynder, looking up at Ignitus. "I can't tell you how happy I am right now…but Ember's lost her father and wants to find him, can you help her?" she asked. "I know times tight…but she deserves to see her father again too."

"Cynder?" asked Ember, surprised. "T-thank you…"

Cynder smiled. "What are big sisters for?" she asked, referencing her earlier statement. She was glad to help the Pink Dragoness be reunited as she had been.

Ignitus smiled. "Well you should rest here tonight, so we've got time," he said, hesitantly separating from his daughter. "It shouldn't take too long, if she knows her father's name."

"Oh! His name is Blaze," said Ember, remembering vividly. She was now nervous, knowing there was a possibility he was dead.

"First, let's check the Book of Dragon Deaths to see if he's still alive," said Ignitus, levitating a book over and looking through it, knowing how this one was organized. "Hmm…let's see here," he said, flipping through pages until he found where her father's would be. "Well there are dragons named Blaze, but none of them are your father, he's defiantly still alive."

Ember was stunned. She'd hoped it was true, but this took her off guard after not hearing from him in over 20 years. "H-he's alive?" she asked. She then got very excited, clearly ecstatic to hear her father was alive. "He's alive!" she yelled, jumping around with childlike joy.

Cynder smiled. "I'm happy for you Ember," she said, glad to know her friend might also be reunited with her father.

Spyro nodded. "I'm glad too, now you can find him again."

"Now, let's find that book, shall we?" asked Ignitus, getting Ember's attention as they began looking for it.

* * *

Deadlock was preparing in her room, the eggs on pedestals encircling a lava pit. "The solar eclipse will soon be upon us," said the ice head.

"And at long last we'll have what we've been waiting 24 years for!" said the fire head.

"I'll be so happy!" said the electric head. "I can't wait to finally-!"

General Grendel slithered into the room, interrupting them. "My queen," he said, bowing, his severed hand replaced with a large golden hook.

"Grendel, good to see you," said the electric head. "How's your arm?"

"It's fine, my lady," said Grendel, not interested in himself but rather his queen. "The spies have reported that Spyro, Cynder, and that Fire Guardian Ember have left the dragon temple. They're on their way."

"Good, good!" said the ice head. "This is perfect!"

"Yes, revenge will soon be ours!" said the fire head. "But I still say we should've snapped their necks right there."

"Oh, its always rip out the throat or tear out the eyes with you!" said the electric head. "Where's the fun in having a quick, painless revenge? It's not exciting!"

"My lady, should we send Naga out to intercept them?" asked Grendel.

"No," said the ice head, walking over to the lava pit, eyes glowing. "We'll let Empress Tyrania have her turn first, they'll have to pass through her territory first," she said, the lava pit displaying an image of an enormous pterodactyl-like Gargoyle with red eyes and a crown on her head. "As long as they have the grief of knowing they've failed to save their child, I don't care who kills them now. But instruct her to make sure one has to watch the other die."

"Yes," said the fire head. "The same grief we've been forced to endure!"

"And Tyrania is so bored," said the electric head. "She'll love the chance to ruthlessly maul someone."

"Yes, and if Tyrania loses, so be it," said the fire head. "That drama queen needs to get knocked down a few notches," she spat bitterly, clearly disliking Tyrania's ego.

"And if she wins, Spyro and Cynder die, and knowing Tyrania, it'll defiantly be an exciting death!" said the electric head. "This'll be so fun!"

What they didn't know was Cyros was listening at the doorway. Hearing what was said about Tyrania, she got a cunning smirk. "Oh that can work for me," she said, giving deep thought. "Now, to find mom's spell book, I've got studying to do," she said, slinking off.

* * *

"Oh dear," said Ignitus, having finally found Blaze's book.

Ember whined in worry. "What is it? Is something wrong with my dad?"

Ignitus sighed. "I'm afraid Blaze disappeared because he was captured by the Gargoyles."

"Gargoyles?" asked Spyro. "Those things that are part of the Naga's army?"

"Well not truly a part of it," said Ignitus. "The Gargoyles are allies of the Naga, but rule a separate part of the Unknown Realms," he explained. "They're creatures forged from stone and animated by the life energy of their leader, Empress Tyrania."

"Ok, wait," said Sparx. "So there's another evil race we're going to have to fight? Great, just great."

"Wait, go back," said Spyro. "What exactly are the Gargoyles doing with their captives?"

Ignitus sighed. "The Gargoyles are slavers," he said with disgust. "They put other races to work under horrible conditions day in and day out," he explained, solemnly. "Most of their slave labor goes towards harvesting volcanic rock which is used to create new Gargoyles," he continued. "You see, Tyrania is the only true Gargoyle. The others are little more than rock animated by her life force and dark magic."

"So the Gargoyles we fought are just puppets of this Tyrania?" asked Spyro.

"Sounds like how Malefor made his monsters," said Cynder, seeing a parallel between the Gargoyles and Malefor's Grublins.

"It's a similar spell," said Ignitus. "But the difference is that the Gargoyles aren't animated completely by the magic, they're given life by Tyrania's life force and she controls how free they are," he continued. "There are two main castes of Gargoyle; Drones, which you fought mostly, and Warriors, the larger, stronger ones. Drones are little more than brutes who have little to no true intelligence," he explained, showing detest for the creatures as a whole. "The Warriors have some degree of freewill, enough to think and order around the drones, even carry on lives of their own," he continued. "But they cannot understand things like compassion and goodness. Their only morals are those of Tyrania, as it's a part of her life granting them theirs."

"Ok, we've got to fight an army of evil stone guys. Great, that's just great," said Sparx, words dripping with sarcasm. "And am I the only one who thinks Tyrania is the name of something we probably shouldn't be picking a fight with?"

"Actually, defeating the Gargoyles would be a good course of action," said Ignitus, thinking things out. "You see, if the Gargoyles are defeated, the Naga lose a large portion of their army, making the defeating them easier. And it would also free their slaves," he explained, staying close to Cynder now. He wanted to reassure her as much as possible. He wanted to act like a father this time, as much as he possibly could.

"And it doesn't sound all that hard," said Cynder. "We take down Tyrania, the rest of the Gargoyles go with her, right?"

"Hello! Tyrania; tyrant! Am I the only one who sees the similarity there?" yelled Sparx, trying to be noticed.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, Cynder" said Ignitus, ignoring Sparx's outburst. "The Gargoyle's capital is built at the base of a volcano, Tyrania's citadel at its top," he explained. "And Tyrania is a very powerful creature, destroying her won't be easy," he said, uncertain now if it could be done by just the small group.

"Great! Another volcano!" said Sparx. "Why do our adventures always involve lava!"

Spyro ignored his brother's outburst. "We can do it," he said. "Just send us in the right direction and we'll handle it," he said, then looked to Ember. "We'll free your father and the other slaves, I promise," he said, determined to help his friend.

Ember smiled and hugged Spyro. "Thank you!" she said, then backed off once she realized what she'd done. "Sorry…" she said sheepishly, though it was rather clear she enjoyed it.

Cynder gave a low pitched growl, but Ignitus put a paw on her back to relax her. "Alright, tomorrow you may go, but tonight, you'll need to rest," said Ignitus. "You've traveled a long way to get here, it's in everyone's best interests to get some sleep."

Cynder nodded. "That is a good idea," she said, then looked up at him. "What about you?"

Ignitus smiled. "Don't worry, Cynder, I'll be fine," he said, giving his daughter a loving nuzzle. It was such a relief to be able to show her real fatherly compassion now that she really knew it. "I'm immortal, rest is no longer something I need."

* * *

Deadlock continued her preparations, arranging candles, which had yet to be lit around the room. "So much to do…" said the ice head. All three heads looked once more to the eggs, showing a slight remorse for what they required of them. "If only things had been different, all those years ago…" said the ice head, the three-headed dragoness allowing memories to flow back.

* * *

**Flashback**

At the temple, so many years ago, Deadlock lay curled up in a large, dark room, around a clutch of newly laid eggs, four of them, one of each of the four main elements. The three-headed dragoness looked exhausted, having just laid this clutch of eggs a few minutes ago and having finally finished. "Please, let him in," said the ice head, a tired smile on her face, the same with the other two heads. Even her normally angry fire head was joyful.

The dragonesses who had helped deliver the eggs opened the door, allowing in a large Earth dragon. He had similar coloration to Terrador, being they were the same race of dragons after all, but this dragon had more reddish brown colored horns and chest plates, as well as wing membranes. His horns were more forwards facing and his face more streamlined, his tail club a thick mass of bone. The male cautiously approached Deadlock. "Deadlock…are you alright?" he asked softly, concern for her well being clear on his face.

Deadlock nodded. "We're fine, Andreas," said the fire head.

"And so are these," said the electric head, the dragoness moving her tail out of the way to show the little eggs.

Andreas was speechless, looking at his and Deadlock's brood of eggs with pride. "They're beautiful…" he said, knowing they were just eggs, but they were _their _eggs. He lowered his head and nuzzled them. He then rose and nuzzled each of Deadlock's three heads. "If our first clutch are anything to go by, then this group will be wonderful…"

Deadlock nodded. "I know…you've made us a very happy dragoness, Andreas," said the ice head, pronouns being somewhat awkward when speaking about a three-headed dragoness.

Andreas laid down next to his mate, curling around their unborn children protectively. "And you've made me a very happy dragon."

Deadlock smiled, once more nuzzling her mate lovingly with all three heads. "Thank you for giving us a chance, Andreas…" said the electric head.

The other two heads nodded. "We know that a lot of dragons think we're a freak, and we kind of are," said the fire head, showing a tad bit of anger at that fact.

"But you took us as your mate…we love you, Andreas," said the ice head, smiling warmly to her mate.

Andreas smiled back. "And I love you too, Deadlock," he said, not seeing Deadlock as a freak but the most beautiful dragoness he'd ever laid eyes on. "Now rest, you've been through quite the ordeal…" he said, allowing her to lay her heads on his back to sleep, the Earth Dragon resting his wing over her back and keeping a cautious eye over their unhatched eggs.

* * *

**Flashback Over**

Deadlock smiled at the memory, then frowned. "Andreas…" said all three heads at once. More memories came forwards, sparkling tears starting from all six eyes, even those of the normally joyful electric head.

* * *

**Flashback**

Deadlock impaled an Ape on her spiked tail, swinging it round and smashing him into several more. As more charged, she let loose a triple blast of fire, ice, and electric breaths, wiping them out. "You'll never get near these eggs!" yelled the fire head, enraged as she lunged forwards and ripped an Ape off the ground by the throat, shaking him like a rabid dog.

The ice head snarled and fired several ice shards into more Apes, taking them out quickly. The three-headed dragon was standing in front of the egg chamber, taking her stand and refusing to allow any ape to get past her. Andreas was nearby, doing much the same. "Andreas! How are you holding up?" called the ice head in worry before freezing an ape solid with a blast of ice.

"I'm alright, don't worry about me!" called back the proud Earth Dragon, slamming his club down on an Ape's head, then blasting several more with earth missiles.

Deadlock nodded, then noticed the door behind her open and Ignitus came barreling out, the Purple Dragon's egg in his clutches. "Master Ignitus," said the fire head as the electric on clamped down on an Ape's throat and electrocuted him.

"Deadlock, I have to get the Purple Dragon's egg out of here. If the Dark Master destroys it, we're all doomed," said Ignitus, the Fire Guardian keeping the egg hidden from the apes, his face full of concern.

"But what about your eggs?" asked the electric head, concerned.

"Nova will do her best to protect them," said Ignitus. "But this egg is too important to allow the Dark Armies to get their claws on it. It's our future, this creature will guide the fate of the era and may be the only thing capable of stopping the Dark Master from destroying us all."

Deadlock nodded, spinning around and letting loose a triple blast of her elements into the ranks of Apes, blasting a hole through their hordes. "Go!" called all three heads, knowing the importance of that egg. "We'll cover you!"

Ignitus nodded. "Thank you, Deadlock," the Fire Guardian replied, rushing full speed out of the temple using the opening Deadlock provided as the tri-headed dragoness blasted down Apes that would dare try to stop him.

"Good luck, Ignitus…" said the ice head, worried for the Fire Guardian and the precious egg he carried.

Suddenly, she heard Andreas cry out in pain and twirled around. "Andreas!" called all three heads, watching as her mate fell to the ground, blood pouring from a deep gash in his chest. The terrible King of the Apes, Gaul, stood over him, blood staining his sword. The Ape King was younger, and had both of his eyes, but otherwise looked little different than in modern times.

Deadlock's eyes narrowed as Gaul raised his swords to finish his prey, the three-headed dragon blasting the massive Ape in the chest with a combined blast of her elements, forcing him back. She then flew over and landing between him and her mate. "Hands off him!" yelled all three heads, rage clear in their eyes. "We'll kill you for hurting our mate!"

Gaul seemed taken off guard, then chuckled. "Do you think you're a match for me, freak?" he asked, preparing his swords.

Deadlock prepared herself as Gaul swung one of his swords at her, only for the electric head to clamp down on his wrist and pump several thousand volts of electricity into his body. Roaring in pain, Gaul attempted to slash her with his other sword, but that wrist was caught by her fire head, which let loose a torrent of flames into his flesh. The ice head lunged forwards and clamped down on Gaul's throat, the three heads lifting Gaul up with all their strength, throwing him a good distance into a wall.

Before Gaul could recover, Deadlock charged and swung her tail around, slashing the mighty King of the Apes across the face with the spikes at their tip. Gaul howled in agony, clutching his face were his eye had once been, blood dripping from behind his hand. The monstrous Ape knew he was outmatched by the massive and furious three-headed dragoness with the fresh loss of his eye and wisely retreated.

Deadlock ran over to Andreas, tears streaming down her face as she noted her mate's wounds. "Andreas…please…you can't die…not now…" said the ice head, terrified of losing her beloved.

Andreas looked up weakly, eyes meeting her. "Deadlock…I…I love you…" he said, blood trickling from his mouth.

"We love you too," the three heads each choked out, not wanting to believe their mate was bleeding to death right in front of them.

"Hang on Andreas, please…" said the ice head, sobbing. "We'll get help…please don't leave us…what will we do without you?" she asked, unsure of how she'd live without her mate.

Andreas weakly managed to reach up and nuzzle his mate before giving one warm smile to reassure her. "You're strong…you'll make it, I know you will…goodbye, Deadlock…" he managed to say before going limp, life leaving him.

Deadlock gasped. "Andreas?" all three heads asked, nudging him, tears running down her faces. She then realized life had left her mate and lowered her heads in sorrow, tears streaming down her face. "Andreas…no…please don't go…please!"

**Flashback Over**

* * *

Deadlock let her tears stream as she remembered that terrible day. That is, before her sorrow turned to anger. "Andreas…If we hadn't helped that blasted Purple Dragon be saved, we could've saved you!" said the fire head in rage. "And your blood is on his head!" she yelled, knocking over a table with her tail in a fury.

"Everything is on his head! His and that mate of his!" all three heads roared in anger. "And they're going to suffer for what happened!"

"Excuse me, my lady," said a rather frightened Grendel, slithering in.

Deadlock calmed herself slightly and spun to look at her general. "Yes, Grendel?" asked the ice head, anger still seething inside her.

"Commander Hades has sent word," explained the Naga General. "He says one of the captives he took from the Dragon Realms to sell as slaves to the Gargoyles may be of use to you. A friend of Spyro and Cynder it would seem."

Deadlock, with her recent trip down memory lane, smirked sadistically. "Have him brought to us," said the ice head. "I'm sure knowing a friend of theirs is in our clutches will add an extra amount of grief when they fail to save those they love. And order Tyrania to capture them alive if at all possible."

"Oh, and that gives me such a delightfully horrible idea," said the electric head, getting smirks from the other two heads as she shared her idea with them via telepathy.

* * *

"Let's see," said Cyros, flipping through pages in a large, bronze colored book back at her room. "Transfer your soul into golems, no. Turn lead into gold, interesting but not what I'm looking for. Ah, here it is!" she said, finding the spell she was looking for. "Perfect. All I'll need to do is wait for one of them to win the fight and cast this spell," she said, memorizing it. "Whoever wins, I claim my prize," she said, smirking. She then went to gathering her supplies for the trip. _"Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they run. See how they run,"_ she sung as she gathered her supplies, like before in quite a dark and creepy fashion.

"_They all ran to fight the evil queen. Who their enemy and them was between. But whose doing my work for me? Why the three blind mice!"_ Cyros sung as she finished packing and headed out with an evil laugh.

* * *

Yeah, Ignitus is Cynder's father. I know most people make him Spyro's, but I didn't for two reasons. 1) I didn't want to follow the crowd and do what everyone does. And 2), Cynder needed it more than Spyro. Spyro is happily adopted and doesn't really need to know who his dragon parents are because he considers the dragonflies his real family. Cynder, as I made a point of a few chapters ago, never had a family and is having some emotional trouble about it. So I felt like she needed it a lot more than Spyro did. Also, Deadlock was the one who took out Gaul's eye, I felt it'd be a good explaination for that and good revenge for him killing her mate.

Oh boy, Cyros is up to no good, isn't she? We'll see what she's doing next time!


	11. What Must Be Done

Hello everyone! Time for another chapter. I also worked in something to this chapter due to something I didn't do being pointed out before. I realized that I agreed with them and added it in here. Thanks to that person! Also, Pyrus' own adventure starts and Cyros gets a new power! Enjoy!

* * *

**What Must Be Done**

Pyrus snuck around the door to Deadlock's chamber the next morning, his curiosity unable to be contained. He had no idea what she was up to but knew it wasn't good, she had mentioned a dark ritual. "What are you up to, mom?" he whispered, peeking through the door.

Deadlock chuckled as she dropped a clutch of red gems into the lava pit, causing it to glow dully. "We're almost ready," said the ice head. "Soon our ritual will be ready."

"And soon we'll have what we've been waiting 24 years for!" said the fire head, anxious to start.

"I know," said the electric head, snaking around and looking at the eggs. "But I wish we didn't need to sacrifice the lives of the eggs to the forces of darkness for it," she said, somewhat sadly but keeping her hyperactive voice as usual. "After all that time as a nurse, it pains me to sacrifice children to the forces of darkness."

"A necessary sacrifice," said the ice head, seeming to not like it any more than her sister head but seeing it as needed. "It's the only way for the ritual to be done, sad as it may be. And this ritual is the only thing we haven't tried. We have no choice!"

Pyrus gulped. "Sacrifice to the forces of darkness?" he whispered to himself. "S-she can't…"

"However, there's one egg I'm more than happy to sacrifice," said the fire head, snaking around and looking at the black egg. "I'm kind of hoping Spyro and Cynder beat Queen Tyrania or she manages to capture them," she admitted. "I'd love to force those two to watch their precious child be ripped away from them like ours were!" she said, growing furious.

"Indeed, perhaps we should tell Tyrania to make sure to capture them alive," said the electric head, relishing revenge as much as her sisters.

The red head snarled. "Too bad that egomaniac wouldn't listen even if we did order her to. Requesting it is the best we can do."

"Enough talk," said the ice head. "We've still got work to do!" she said, getting her other heads to return to what they were doing.

Pyrus pulled back and was in shock. His mother was planning to sacrifice eggs? As much as he loved her, that was too much for him to even try to justify. "I need to think things out…" he said, running off to clear his head and think of what to do.

Cyros watched her brother from the ceiling, curled up on a ledge so she couldn't be seen. "So that's what mom is planning," she said, emerging from her hiding spot in an almost snake-like manner, Deadlock's spell book in hand, she'd been doing more reading. She didn't give a darn what her mom's plans were, unless she could twist them to her own ends. Still, this gave her ideas. "The little goodie goodie can't stand seeing mom kill a bunch of unborn brats?" she asked, finding his compassion pathetic, but forming a nasty plan as a result. "I think it's time to have a little talk with little brother," she said, a completely sadistic smirk coming across her face.

Cryos heard a Naga coming up behind her and turned. "Get that thing I asked for?" she asked, the Naga holding out a small, green, glowing jewel in reply. "Good," she said, taking it from him. While reading the spell book, she'd found something that fit her absolutely perfectly and she just had to have it. "Thank you, now I've got some work to do," she said, slinking off.

* * *

Cynder looked through her mother Nova's book. She saw where she got her body shape from, Nova was long and thin like she was, but had a dark, burnt orange color to her scales. Her horns were similar to Cynder's, but all of them curved upwards and were a reddish color. "I guess I didn't take too much after you, did I?" she asked her father, who was busying himself monitoring events and sorting books as they were updated.

Ignitus chuckled. "Well you are a female dragon," he replied. "Likely you would've inherited more of my powers and color if you hadn't been the first Black Dragon," he explained. "But I think you're a beautiful young dragoness regardless," he continued, giving a warm smile to his daughter.

Cynder chuckled. "Thanks, dad," she said, looking back at the book. "She was a beautiful dragoness too, wasn't she?" she said, smiling but sad at the same time as she looked at a picture of her mother in the book.

Ignitus came over, sorrowful as he looked into the book as well. "She was," he said. "She was a kindhearted dragoness who refused to leave someone behind if she could help it…she's also where you get your protectiveness of your egg," he said, giving a smile in memory. "I swear she tore apart more apes in the temple than all the Guardians put together trying to protect you and our other eggs."

Cynder smiled, knowing from that her mother truly loved her. "I would've done the same," she said, thinking. "If mine and Spyro's egg is a girl…I'm naming her Nova."

Ignitus looked surprised, then smiled warmly. "Nova would be honored…" he said, putting his paw on her back. He was glad she wanted to name his granddaughter after the dragoness he'd loved so much. He then got back to work after giving his daughter a warm nuzzle, wanting to give her all the love he could after what she'd been through.

Spyro finally entered the room, yawning. "Good morning, Cynder," he said, walking up to his mate and giving her a nuzzle.

Cynder smiled and nuzzled him back. "Morning Spyro," she said. "Sorry I didn't wait for you to wake up, I wanted to spend some time with my dad…"

Spyro nodded, understandingly. "I don't blame you, you had a lot of catching up to do," he replied. "You can finally learn about your family now."

Cynder nodded. "I know…my mom was a great dragoness…I feel so proud of her," she said, smiling at the picture. "…We're naming our baby Nova if it's a girl."

Spyro gave it some thought, then agreed with a nod. "I understand completely. It's a beautiful name," he said, glad about that. "But I think we both know what to name it if it's a boy," he said, looking over to Ignitus and smiling as he watched the new Chronicler sorting through books.

Cynder chuckled. "I was planning to do that before I found out he was my father," she said, smiling back. She knew they still had to get the egg back, of course, but being positive made it much easier to bare with the situation.

Ember yawned, entering the room, Sparx flying along with her, having just woken up as well. "Ok, so today we go into another death land full of creatures that are going to try to kill us," said Sparx. "That about right?"

Spyro nodded. "Pretty much, but I'm sure we'll be ok."

Ember nodded. "I'll be fine so long as you're there to help me, Spyro," she said, getting a little flirtatious again. She noticed this and pulled back. "I'll pull my weight too, I promise."

Cynder got slightly mad when Ember got her flirtatious tone again but softened when Ember pulled back and promised to pull her own weight. "I'm sure you will, you are the new Fire Guardian after all."

Ember smiled, glad to have the compliment, though still insecure about that to some degree. "Thanks, Cynder," she said, then looked at the book. "Is that your mom?" she asked, looking at the picture of Nova.

Cynder nodded proudly. "Yeah, just learning more about her. She was a very loving dragon and cared for pretty much everyone," she said, smiling warmly at the picture. She still felt guilty she'd killed her, but knowing more about Nova still made her happy.

Ember listened intently. "She sounds like she was a good dragoness…she was really pretty too."

"Young dragons, come here!" called Ignitus, seeming excited, interrupting the conversation.

Spyro and company joined Ignitus at the book of dragon deaths. "What is it, Ignitus?"

"I do believe I've discovered another survivor of your year!"

"Another one?" asked Cynder, shocked.

"Ok, just how many are they're going to be?" asked Sparx, finding this strange.

"Well you must understand, there were hundreds of eggs that year, some might be cases like Ember here, or like the other two I found," explained Ignitus. "Sadly, most survivors of the initial raid didn't survive to the present day," he continued, giving a solemn moment for that fact. "I was looking through the list of dragon deaths, where unnamed eggs are simply listed by their parent's name and clutch, or if they did survive but died with their own name still in the grouping to allow one to locate their page in the book by their name," he explained. "I remembered a specific grouping from that year because, despite being of mixed breed parents, all seven of their eggs were the same race, which is very unusual. Cyril was complaining very heavily about that, as the mother was an Ice Dragon and there weren't any in the clutch," he said, remembering that rather vividly. "Well, I've located that group in the book of dragon deaths and there are only six eggs listed as dead."

"Could it be one of the other two?" suggested Spyro, making sure to double check.

Ignitus shook his head. "No, this set of eggs were all Earth Dragons, one of the other two was fire and the other ice," he continued. "I don't know the dragon's name, so I can't be sure where it is," he said, troubled. "But I know how we may be able to find out," he said, leading them to another room with a vision pool, much like the one in the temple. "I can still see visions, despite my rebirth, perhaps this will show me something."

"Wait, I thought the Chronicler saw everything," said Spyro, confused.

Ignitus shook his head. "The Chronicler's job is to relay information, not to record it. The books do that much on their own," he explained. "My duty is to keep guard of this library and, if needed, share it. I can see events if I know who I'm looking for, though those with abilities like Deadlock's can blind me," he continued. "The reason the previous Chronicler was so knowing is he'd had centuries to read all the books in this library cover to cover, I've had but nine years and I've started from the bottom up. While I'm a faster reader now, I don't know everything yet," he stated. "Now, please be quiet, I need to concentrate," he continued, looking into the pool intently.

After a few moments, Ember looked up to him. "See anything, Ignitus?" she asked inquisitively.

"Yes, something is coming into view," said the old dragon, concentrating. "I see an Ape, a large one, carrying the dragon's egg from the temple…others Apes are with him," he said, watching this. "They go into the Unknown Realms…into Gargoyle territory…after that nothing…" he said, perplexed. "It appears I found out about this child's survival now for a reason," he added, aware of the odds against this happening right as the young dragons were going into Gargoyle territory. "Thank the Ancestors."

"So this dragon egg was saved by an Ape?" asked Cynder, unable to imagine one of those brutes doing a good deed.

"That I'm not sure of. All I know is that egg lives. But since nothing is coming up contradicting it still being in that land, my guess would be he stole it to sell to the Gargoyles for his own profit. Regardless, the child is alive, and that is a blessing."

"Wait, why so many dragons in the Unknown Realms?" asked Cynder, noticing a pattern. "First the other two eggs, now this Earth Dragon…all in the Unknown Realms."

Ignitus smiled. "Because its safer...comparably. Spyro grew up in an area where the war hadn't yet reached, as did Ember. Dragon hatchlings had a far greater chance of surviving outside the war zone, as the Apes were ordered to kill them on sight. I'm sorry to say that most of the hatchlings who survived the initial raid were slaughtered by the Apes in the aftermath…" he said, sorrowful, the rest of the group reacting the same. "It's crueler to permit one life and take it away in its prime than to not allow them to live at all…but that's not what's important now. It's only natural the eggs which managed to find their way out of the Dragon Realms would have a higher chance for survival. I don't know about the other two, or where they are, but I do know this egg is in Gargoyle territory. The chances of you locating it are much higher than finding them…at the moment."

"Alright, so we keep an eye out for a dragon while trying not to die," said Sparx. "Anything else you want?"

"I believe that is all," said Ignitus. "I have nothing further I can tell you at the time being."

"Well there's something I'd like to do first, if it's alright…" said Spyro, having given something some thought overnight. Something he had to get out of the way before they left. "Ignitus…can I face my fears before we leave? Like Cynder and Ember did?"

Ignitus was slightly taken off guard but knew Spyro wouldn't ask unless it was something important. "Of course you can, Spyro. But may I ask why you want to?"

Spyro looked up at Ignitus. "Last time, it was just the Elemental Dragon in the shape of Dark Cynder. I was afraid…but it wasn't really what I feared, it was just a imitation of it…Deadlock already used our worst fears on us and I couldn't beat mine, you had to rescue me," he continued, remembering that awful nightmare that Deadlock had used against him. He was somewhat ashamed of himself for succumbing to Deadlock's nightmares, but knew it was natural to have something you were afraid of. "If she does it again, then I might be in trouble, especially if it's during the fight with her," he explained, worried. "I want to overcome my fear so I can fight. Cynder and Ember already beat what they fear…I want to beat mine."

Cynder and Ember both nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Deadlock used everything I was afraid of against me in my nightmare," said Cynder, remembering her terrifying dream. "I know why you want to be able to overcome your fears, Spyro," she continued, agreeing. It'd also been a huge relief to be liberated from the things she feared the most and to know she could defeat her evil half. She was still afraid, but a lot less.

"Deadlock didn't do that to me," admitted Ember. "But if that meanie tries it on me when we fight her, I'll be ready now!" she said, showing her excitable nature. "I don't blame you for wanting to be ready too."

"Spyro…you sure?" asked Sparx, showing his concern for his brother. He did understand why Spyro wanted to. Being cowardly as he was, he wouldn't mind being able to overcome his fears once in awhile. He was still worried for him though, knowing it'd be a bit dangerous.

Spyro nodded. "I am," he said, smiling to his adopted brother. "Thanks for the concern, Sparx."

"Alright then," said Ignitus. "I can arrange it. As Terrador always said, a true warrior defeats their fears to become stronger. That's advice worth taking," he said, leading the way. "But we must be quick, there isn't much time."

* * *

Pyrus set in his room, which was much plainer, as he didn't desire much as opposed to his sister, just a few toys laying around. "What am I going to do?" he asked aloud, not knowing what to do.

Cyros slipped into the room, reading Deadlock's spell book, trying to look like she'd simply wandered in. "About what, little brother?" she asked, with her same aggressive tone of voice.

Pyrus looked over, seeing her reading the spell book. "What are you doing with mom's spell book?"

"Just studying up on magic, mom wanted us to learn it, remember?" asked Cyros, matter-of-factly.

"And since when do you care what mom wants?" asked Pyrus, suspicious of his sister.

Cyros chuckled. "When it benefits me," she said simply.

Pyrus sighed. "I should've guessed…"

Cyros closed the book, having really read up on a few magic spells. "Yeah, I'm getting pretty good," she said, pulling out the green gem the Naga had given her. She pulled her guitar in front of her, which was hanging from her back by a strap. She slid the green gem into the handle of it, causing the strings to begin glowing. She tapped the gem, causing it to glow blue and then began playing a rather loud, rock-like tune. As she played, the crystals serving as lights in the room began to flicker and change color with the beat. "Pretty cool, huh!" shouted Cyros, enjoying the loud music. "If I concentrate, I can control them better. And if I sing, I can make them do some really neat stuff!"

Pyrus covered his ears, not knowing how his sister handled the loud music. "Whatever, now stop it! There's something important!" he yelled over the guitar playing.

Cyros rolled her eyes, ceasing her playing. "What?" she asked, seeming irritated, despite knowing exactly what her brother was thinking.

Pyrus groaned, shaking his head to clear it. "I overheard mom, she's planning to sacrifice those eggs in some dark ritual," he said, still horrified and hoping if her sister had any heart at all she'd listen. "I don't care what it is, I can't let her do that."

Cyros tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…why don't you just ask her about it? She loves you enough," she said, hiding her bitterness over her brother being the favorite to string him along.

Pyrus sighed. "I thought of that, but she seems obsessed over it, she won't listen to me," he explained, knowing if Deadlock waited 24 years for something, she wouldn't give it up just because he asked. "I love mom…but I can't bare the thought of her killing those eggs…"

Cyros nodded. "I see your point…well you could…nah, that's a stupid idea," she said, shaking her head and feigning concern.

Pyrus blinked. "What? Do you have an idea?"

"Well mom did steal one of those eggs from Spyro and Cynder, the Naga said they're a pair of dragon heroes back where we're from," said Cyros, still playing her brother. "You could go with them and help them stop mom, then maybe you'd get a chance to get some sense into her…only one problem."

Pyrus entertained the thought. Those two may want to take revenge on his mother for stealing their child, but they probably weren't as obsessed with vengeance as his mother. Plus, if he went with them, he might be able to talk them into being less harsh on Deadlock. Hearing that she could be a loving mother, and had been to him and Cyros, might change their minds. He then cocked his head at his sister's statement. "What's the problem?"

Cyros sighed. "Well they're clear in Gargoyle turf, that's a far way away and you've never been out of the cave alone. If you're going against mom there won't be any Naga helping you," she said, mocking him. "Wouldn't want little Pyrus getting hurt," she said, pinching his cheek and treating him like a child.

Pyrus pulled away, getting a little upset. "What? You don't think I can handle it?"

Cyros laughed. "Yep," she said with a smirk. "Little brother, it's a scary world out there. A half-pint like you wouldn't last a day."

Pyrus was slightly intimidated by this but stood strong. "You're wrong! I can be strong!"

Cyros snickered. "Oh you think so?" she asked, starting to play a slow, dark rhythm on her guitar, taking control of the lights again, wanting to make a big production of it due to her huge ego. _"My my my, little Pyrus has a backbone, such a grown up prince!"_ she sung, getting in his face. _"Ready to leave into the great unknown, but I think he hasn't the common sense!"_ she continued, causing the lights to go out with a thought. Pyrus activated his tattoo to light himself up and backed up, Cyros appearing behind him by making a spotlight right on her.

"_Little bro, you don't know what you're in for! You've got no idea what the world has in store!"_ Cyros continued, turning deactivating the light and sinking into the darkness. As Pyrus looked around for her, she lit up behind him with another spotlight, looking over his shoulder.

"_Monsters all around you, looking to spell you doom! You go out and they're sure to get you soon!"_ Cyros sung, tempo of the song picking up and becoming even more sinister. A she sung, lights appeared around Pyrus, inside them shadows in the shape of various fierce and ugly monsters, a new one appearing when he tried to get away from an old one.

"_Creatures hanging from the trees, looking to rip out your throat! Just stay home, you haven't got a hope!"_ she sung as Pyrus sled up against his bed. He looked up to see a light casting the shadow of a tree with a large snake-like creature hanging down on the wall behind him, mouth open wide.

As he staggered backwards from the fright, Cyros flew over him in the darkness and landed behind him, putting them in a spotlight with her ax to his neck. _"There's a lot of scary things out there, you won't last a day. But if you want to leave here, fine just have it your way!"_ she sung, looking over his shoulder as more horrifying images flashed in lights around them.

" _I won't stop you. But be warned, little bro. But my words will hold true, around every rock lays a foe!" _Cyros continued, removing her tail from his neck and kicking him forwards as the beat she played picked up, like a racing heartbeat. The images of nightmarish creatures flashed faster and more intensely around the young dragon. _"You have my word, Pyrus dear. Out there you have everything to fear!" _she sung, vanishing into the darkness with a laugh.

"_They'll tear you to shreds! They'll skin you alive or cut off your head!"_ Cyros sung, a shadow of a sword-wielding knight appearing on the wall in front of Pyrus, sword ready. Pyrus ducked in fear as it slashed at him and vanished.

"_But if you're so sure you then reap what you sow! If it goes wrong I won't say I told you so!_

_Go ahead into the great unknown! Try your luck, take the risk!_

_Go out all alone, not a soul to guide you! I swear what I've said is true!"_ Cyros sung, getting in his face and kicking him on his back, getting extremely intense in her looks and voice.

"_When you find out I'm right, then what will you do? Turn back now because no one out there will save you!"_ Cyros sung. _"Stay here if you have the sense. If you go into the great unknown, you'll die my little Prince," _she sung,finishing up with a power cord and ceasing her song as the lights came back on in response to her spell ending, Pyrus quite shaken up and Cyros laughing sinisterly.

Pyrus panted, his heart racing from fear, he hadn't expected that, though given his sister's personality, he really should've. To be honest, her statements, and the images she made appear magically did scare him quite a bit. But he managed to find the resolve to get back up and try to look brave. "You're just trying to scare me! Like you always do!" he yelled. "I can handle it! I really can."

Cyros chuckled, having had a fun time with that song, and trying out her new powers. She'd sure to get more use out of them. "Fine, I won't stop you," she said. "But don't say I didn't warn you," she said, in a singsong fashion. "And then there's Kaze and his gang."

"Kaze?" asked Pyrus, blinking. "A gang? What are they, who is that?" he asked, a little nervous.

"They are a clan of thieves that live out in the forest and Kaze is their leader," said Cyros, circling her brother. "They're thieves who take whatever they want, by force if need be. And let's just say they don't like witnesses," she said, doing a throat slitting motion and getting a gulp from Pyrus. "And Kaze is wicked strong, he'd tear you to shreds in an instant," she said, getting Pyrus more and more frightened. "I bet you won't last a day out there with them…"

Pyrus growled, that getting under his skin. "That's a bet you're going to lose."

Cyros seemed to get furious at that. "Lose?" she asked, spinning around and snarling at him. That had hit a serious nerve. "Lose? I _never_ lose!" she yelled, clearly detesting failure, stemming from how she viewed Pyrus as the favorite. "Take it back!"

Pyrus smirked, glad to finally have something to get under his mean sister's scales. "No! I'll show you!"

Cyros snarled and leapt over him, swinging her hind leg up and hitting Pyrus right between the legs hard enough to lift him off the ground. Pyrus moaned and crumpled to the ground, covering his groin in agony. Cyros held her ax tail to Pyrus' neck, a nearly psychotic look on her face. "_Never_ tell me I'll lose again, got it!" she yelled, stomping on his groin with her hind leg and keeping it there, getting a cry of pain out of him. Pyrus squirmed, desperately trying to get out of the agonizing position his sister had him in. He finally nodded frantically, causing Cyros to let him go. "Good boy," she said, watching him curl up, moaning from the pain and covering up as best he could. She gave a chuckle and walked out, leaving her brother to suffer in silence.

Pyrus moaned, watching his sister leave from his painful position. "…What happened sis?" he asked aloud. "You weren't always this way…what happened to you?" he asked, remembering a time Cyros wasn't the sadistic, vindictive creature she'd become.

* * *

"Worked like a charm," Cyros said to herself as she walked to the opening of the cave, a rather thin Naga awaiting her. He resembled an adder in head shape and coloring, wearing a purple cloak with golden trim. This was Kage, a Naga wizard who she considered to be her only real friend. As such, he was one of the few she trusted with her plans.

"Pyrus fell for it hook line and sinker," Cyros said. "He's going to head out and try to meet up with Spyro and Cynder just to prove me wrong. Whether he dies on the way or meets them, it doesn't matter," she continued. "I'll just kill him when he returns here if he doesn't die out there."

"My princess, may I ask what you'd have done if he'd not chosen to go?" asked Kage, seeming a tad hesitant about the plan. He tended to be Cyros' morality chain at times, trying to keep her from going too far.

"Excellent question, Kage," said Cyros. "And its simple, I'd have killed him while Spyro and Cynder fought mom. Going to do that if he's still with them when they get here. Mom wins, I tell her Spyro and Cynder killed him. They win, I hang back and take over the throne after they leave, with mom and Pyros gone I'd be queen," she continued, showing her ruthless nature.

"Not to anger you, but do you really need to kill Pyros?" asked Kage, trying to keep her from doing something she might regret. "For example, what if you were to allow him to return to the Dragon Realms with Spyro and Cynder in the event they win the fight with Queen Deadlock? Or if Deadlock is victorious, he may flee anyway when she does something that goes so strongly against his morals. Either way you'd become the heir and it would be far less messy if you got him to leave voluntarily and make the Naga loyal to him less likely to argue with your rule."

Cyros looked angry for a moment, but then settled herself. "Maybe…we'll see how things go," she said, only because she cared about Kage to some degree. That and his argument had some truth to it. As much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't sure she could actually kill her own brother, no matter how bitter she was at him. "Kaze and his gang will probably slow him down, but I don't think they'd kill him, after all, the crown prince would fetch a pretty penny. That and Pyrus is tougher than I give him credit for most of the time," she explained. "Now come on, we've got to get going before Pyrus recovers from the low blow I gave him and sets off himself," she said, spreading her wings and taking off. Kage summoned a cloud of shadows around him, sinking into it and taking off after Cyros.

* * *

Ignitus lead them into the room where the portal that presented their fears laid. He waved his hand in front of it, using his power to set it up. "Alright, it's ready…are you, Spyro?"

Spyro took a deep breath, knowing this was nothing like last time. He then nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready…"

"Remember, this time it will be the manifestation of all your deepest fears into one entity," said Ignitus. "The entity that represents most of what you're terrified of. If at any time you've had too much, just tell me to stop it."

Spyro nodded. "Thanks Ignitus…" he said, slowly walking into the portal and being warped away.

"Be careful…" said Cynder, Ember worried with her. Both of them knew how difficult this would be.

* * *

Spyro opened his eyes, finding himself at the door to a corrupted version of the Dragon Temple, a blood red glow over the surrounding. Statues of the Dark Master lined the path he was on. "Just what I was afraid of…" he muttered, the door opening in front of him as he stepped through. He looked up, seeing exactly what he'd hoped he'd never see again.

The massive Purple Dragon set on his thrown, staring down at Spyro with glowing yellow eyes. The Dark Master laughed. "Well well, what have we here?" he asked, voice demonic and twisted as it's owner, distorted to sound as if more than one entity were talking. It sent a chill down Spyro's spine just hearing that voice again. "Spyro, how are you?" he asked, descending to the ground and circling Spyro, dwarfing him in size. "Is everything going well? How is Cynder?" he asked, feigning goodwill just like last time.

Spyro snarled. "Cut the act, Malefor! You and I both know you don't care!" he retorted, but truthfully, his heart was racing. This was something he deeply feared. After everything they'd been put through by Malefor, Spyro was terrified of the thought Malefor may return. Malefor had no heart, no compassion…he was a sadistic monster who existed only to destroy. Spyro may have beaten Malefor with Cynder's help, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of him.

Malefor gave an evil laugh. "Oh, of course I do," he said, once more pretending his good will was genuine. "I don't want her to die, I'd lose such a loyal follower," he continued. "I have such gratitude, after all, she did trick you into freeing me from the Well of Souls."

Spyro shook his head instantly. "No! You tricked her!"

"What does it matter?" replied the evil dragon, circling him like a shark. "You and her were both just pawns in my little game from the beginning. Tell me, do you even know how often you played right into my hand?"

"It doesn't matter!" replied Spyro, snarling, but having trouble arguing. After all, one of the things that made him terrified of Malefor was how expertly he was able to play people to do whatever he wanted. Malefor was evil to the core, but he was also brilliant when it came to manipulating others. "We beat you! You lost!"

"Oh really?" asked Malefor, giving another laugh. "That's not how I saw it. I'll admit, you put up a good fight, but in the end it wasn't your power that stopped me but that of my own elders," he continued, giving a smirk. "You weren't strong enough to stop me in time to save the world without them. What would you do if I escaped again and they couldn't help you?"

Spyro shook his head, trying to ignore what Malefor was saying. "I'm older now, and stronger! So is Cynder! We'd beat you again!"

"You honestly believe that?" asked Malefor, giving a laugh in amusement at what he saw as naivety. "I remember what it was like, being so young and full of hope," he said, staring into Spyro's eyes before continuing to circle him. "But then I learned that no matter how hard you try being the hero, you end up becoming the villain. Oh, I tried resisting my destiny at first, but the stronger I got the clearer it became that I was the one who would awaken the Destroyer and bring about the Great Cleansing! And that's something you'll learn one day as well!"

Spyro tried not to listen, but his will was beginning to falter. "No! I saved the world when you tried to destroy it! I won't become like you!"

Malefor laughed, finding this amusing. "You think I didn't feel the same way when I was your age, fighting the Naga?" he asked, batting Spyro across the room suddenly. Now that he'd worn him down mentally, he'd do so physically. "Oh, I did. I thought I could protect everything, be the hero," he explained, blocked a blast of fire from Spyro with his wing and blasting him into the wall hard with an Earth Missile. Malefor followed up by jumping at Spyro and pinning him hard against the wall with his paw before he could fall. "But then I saw the light. This world is destined to be destroyed, and you will be the one to do it," he continued, suddenly throwing Spyro across the room into another wall and quickly pinning Spyro against the wall once again, looking him in the eye. "You haven't seen the writing on the wall yet?" he asked, hanging on and flying backwards, slamming Spyro chest first into the opposing wall, getting a cry of pain out of him. "Think about it, young dragon. Didn't it ever seem a little odd that I would try to kill the one being I needed to free me from the Well Of Souls?" he asked, giving an evil smirk before throwing Spyro to the ground.

Spyro gasped for breath, looking up at Malefor in shock. "You didn't want to kill me…you wanted to make me like Cynder!" he replied, stunned. Why didn't he make that connection before? It should've been obvious.

Malefor nodded. "That's right. And you're the one Cynder has to thank for what happened to her," he continued, relishing the confusion and turmoil on the young dragon's face before he charged forwards and snatched Spyro up, plowing him against a wall and pressing down more on Spyro, causing him to cry out in pain. "If it wasn't for you, the temple would never have been attacked and Cynder would've had a normal life with her family," he said, watching his words beginning to hit the younger Purple Dragon hard. "And Deadlock would never have lost everything near and dear to her, she'd not be back seeking to destroy the dragons! And now she has your egg, I wonder how much longer Cynder can hold back the darkness when her beloved child is on the line. It's time to face what you're destined for, Spyro, you're already causing pain and suffering just by existing! Soon, you'll start to like the pain you cause to others, just like I did. Then you'll fulfill the destiny of the Purple Dragon and destroy the world!" he continued, laughing evilly. He then let loose a weak lightning bolt from his mouth, torturing the young dragon with electricity and causing him to scream in agony..

Spyro didn't know how to respond once Malefor stopped his attack, panting from the pain. He didn't respond because he couldn't think of a way to argue…how could he? Everything Malefor had said was true. His birth had caused the temple attack, Malefor had attacked the temple to get to him. If he had never been born, Cynder and Deadlock would both be living normal lives and not suffered as they had…but then he realized what Malefor just said, as well as what Ignitus had told him when he rescued him from Deadlock's nightmare. "You like causing people to suffer…" he muttered, realizing the different between the two of them.

"What?" asked Malefor, surprised to see determination return to Spyro's face.

"You said it yourself, you like hurting people," replied Spyro letting out a stream of flames and blasting Malefor in the face, causing him to stagger back in surprise and drop Spyro. Spyro quickly got back to his feet, coughing heavily from having Malefor pressing down on his chest, a little blood coming up, which he ignored. "You didn't attack the temple because of me, that's just your excuse!" he replied once he caught his breath. It had just hit him now. Malefor would've done that raid at any time, any Year of the Dragon he chose to, he just needed a good reason to justify doing it.

Malefor chuckled, shaking off the ash from his face. "Just because I like doing it doesn't mean it isn't destiny," replied the evil dragon. "The Purple dragon is destined to awaken the Destroyer and bring about the end of this miserable world, whether they want to or not. Just because I wanted to do it doesn't change a thing. And just because you don't doe-"

"Enough!" shouted Spyro, having enough of Malefor's lectures. "If it was the destiny of the Purple Dragon to end the world, why did you need the Destroyer?" he asked, realizing something about how events had transpired that didn't make sense by Malefor's logic.

"It's our destiny to destroy the world," said Malefor, chuckling. "Only the Destroyer can do that."

Spyro smirked. "Then how come I was able to piece the world back together _by myself_?" he asked, having caught Malefor in his own words once again. "You needed a monster to do what you think you were supposed to do, I was able to stop it with my own power," he continued, clearly taking Malefor off guard. "As far as I'm concerned, that means I'm right and you're wrong. Face it, Malefor! You didn't awaken the Destroyer because you had to, you _wanted_ to! You like killing people! You always have and always will!"

Malefor snarled, clearly enraged. As he had been when Cynder escaped his clutches. If there was one thing that infuriated the otherwise cunning and manipulative Dark Master, it was things going against his plan. "You're right, I do like killing people! And now I'm going to kill you! Prepare to die!" he roared, letting loose a blast of fire from his mouth at Spyro, who dodged.

Spyro smirked. "You're getting weaker, aren't you?" he asked, noticing that Malefor did seem weaker, just as Dark Cynder had. "It's because I've seen through you!" he yelled, dodging a lighting blast and countering by freezing Malefor's leg to the ground. "I've seen exactly what you really are inside!"

Malefor snarled and shattered the ice off his leg, swinging his tail around and smashing Spyro hard with it. "I've had enough games, young dragon!" he roared, letting loose a stream of fire at Spyro.

Spyro recovered, dodging the fire and countering with a blast of fire, hitting Malefor in the face. "And you'll always lose, you know why?" he asked, dodging an ice blast. "Because all you care about is destruction and hurting people; you've got nothing to fight for!" he yelled, flying up to dodge a Convexity blast, returning fire with a lightning bolt to Malefor's chest, forcing the colossal beast back. "I've got _everything_ to fight for!" he replied, engulfing himself in fire and surging forwards, hitting Malefor in the jaw and staggering him backwards.

"Enough!" yelled Malefor, having been enraged by Spyro's own statements, swinging his tail around and bashing Spyro across the room with his tail. He then started charging up a Fire Fury and letting loose a powerful shockwave of fire, blasting through the room with his full power, leveling most everything in sight. Panting, Malefor looking up with a smirk. "It's over, Spyro, I've won," he growled, laughing.

"Really?" asked Spyro, emerging from a bolder he'd formed around himself to protect himself. "That's not how I saw it," he said, echoing Malefor's earlier statement

Malefor snarled and charged, engulfing himself in a Convexity version of a Comet Dash and trying to ram Spyro, only to be dodged and plow through a support beam. "I'm going to crush the life out of you!"

Spyro panted, knowing he was no match power wise for even a weakened simulation of Malefor and looked around in an attempt to figure out a plan. He was smaller and faster than Malefor, he needed to out maneuver him. He then noticed the ceiling where the support beam was broken begin to crack. Spyro got an idea and blasted Malefor in the back with a fireball, getting his attention. Spyro flew in front of another support beam, causing Malefor to blow it up with a Earth Missile. Spyro continued dodging attacks, tricking Malefor into blowing up more support beams. Spyro flew into the shadows of the temple so Malefor lost track of him.

Malefor snarled, marching around, looking for him. "Come out come out wherever you are," he growled, searching for his enemy.

"Hey Malefor!" yelled Spyro. As Malefor turned around, Spyro let loose a Convexity Breath into his chest full power, blasting Malefor off his feet and through the last support pillar.

Malefor snarled, getting back to his feet with a death glare on his face. "Did you really think that would work?" he said, giving a chuckle.

"Didn't expect it too," said Spyro, giving a smirk and flying out the door.

"What?" asked Malefor, then noticed the room shaking as Spyro sealed the door. Malefor looked up as the temple imploded on top of him, crushing him and causing the illusion to shatter.

* * *

Spyro panted, returning to the real world and smiling to his friends. "Well done, Spyro," said Ignitus, impressed. "You should know by now, outsmarting Malefor is no small feat, even if it wasn't the real thing."

"You did better than we did," said Cynder, smiling.

Ember nodded. "And it wasn't two on one!"

"Well I didn't actually beat Malefor," said Spyro. "I tricked him into beating himself."

Sparx smiled. "Good job, pal," he said, patting Spyro on the shoulder. "That was pretty awesome."

Ember nodded. "It was so cool! I can't believe I got to see that!" she said, excited and practically jumping with joy. "You're so awesome Spyro!" she said, jumping in his face without realizing it, startling Spyro and causing him to fall on his back. "Oops…" she said, looking sheepishly. She then noticed the blood on Spyro's face. "Spyro! You're hurt!" she said, now worried.

"Uh, it's ok, Ember!" replied Spyro, not wanting her to get too worried.

Ignitus got Spyro some gems to restore his strength and heal his wounds, which Spyro shattered, absorbing them and recovering fully. "Well done, young dragon…" he said, putting a paw on his back and smiling down at his young student. "…I hate to cut your celebration short, but you should be going after all, there's not much time before the eclipse," he explained, remembering that they had to act quickly. "I only allowed this because I knew you needed it." He then hugged Cynder, who returned the embrace. "I will miss you, Cynder. I can't leave this island, but I will keep in contact to the best of my abilities. I love you."

"And I'll visit sometime," said Cynder, smiling up to Ignitus. "I love you too, dad…"

"Take care, Ignitus," said Spyro, going to miss the old dragon as well. While a little more time to enjoy overcoming his fear and spending time with Ignitus would've been nice, he knew time was of the essence. "I hope I'll see you again someday."

"We will, Spyro, that much I'm sure of," said Ignitus. "You all be careful out there, the Unknown Realms are a mysterious place. You never know what you may encounter," he said, handing them a map to the Gargoyle's city. "I will continue to guide you the best I can. May the Ancest-"

"Don't finish that! Every time you say that something tries to kill us!" interrupted Sparx.

"We're going somewhere dangerous most of the time, that's why they say it," said Spyro, a little upset his brother had interrupted Ignitus so rudely.

"Fine, say it, but don't say I didn't warn you," said Sparx.

Ignitus sighed and started over. "May the Ancestors watch over us, may they watch over us all."

* * *

Spyro and company, after flying for most of the day, arrived at the boundary to the Unknown Realms. They landed at the entrance to a vast rainforest, both eerie and beautiful. "Wow…" said Cynder, looking it over.

Ember nodded, tired. "Yeah, it's amazing…" she said, mesmerized by the beautiful rainforest, and the singing of songbirds.

"Yeah, a big forest, neat," said Sparx. "So are we going in or not?"

A caw came from normal looking parrot perched in a tree behind him. "So are we going in or not?" it mimicked, then cawed again.

"Hey! Don't copy me!" yelled Sparx.

"Hey! Don't copy me!" copied the parrot.

"Shut up, you annoying…bird…thing!"

"Shut up, you annoying…bird…thing!" it replied, cawing afterwards.

Sparx growled, then smirked. "I'm an idiot," he said, smirking.

The parrot cawed. "Got that right!" it replied, then flew off, leaving a rather bewildered Sparx and three laughing dragons behind.

Cynder laughed the most, taking pleasure in seeing Sparx getting annoyed himself for once. "Sparx, you walked right into that one!"

Sparx growled. "Just shut up!" he yelled.

"Just shut up!" called the parrot from the forest, followed by a caw.

This got even more laughter from the group. "And I thought those pirate birds were annoying…" muttered Sparx, annoyed.

Spyro finally stopped laughing. "Come on, we need to set up camp for the night, we want to be fully rested for when we go into the Unknown Realms."

With that, the group set up their camp for the night, wondering what awaited them in the Unknown Realms.

* * *

Deep in the territory the group were about to enter, a massive, ominous castle set in the middle of an active volcano, lava on nearly every side. A lone Warrior Gargoyle landed on the top of the highest tower. "Empress Tyrania, I bring word from Queen Deadlock," he reported, bowing.

Four blood red eyes appeared in the dark clouds surrounding the volcano, two sets of two. "What does she say?" asked a dark, famine voice, accompanied by the wing beats of a giant creature.

"It's an amendment to her previous request about the two dragons," said the Gargoyle. "She says capture them alive if at all possible. If you do, she will reward the Gargoyles with a large bounty."

"Hmm…does it mention horrifying torture?" asked Tyrania, staying hidden in her cloud.

"No, miss," said the Gargoyle. "But it says you may do whatever you like once they're captured until a Naga comes to take them to Deadlock. So long as they're still alive."

"Good, very good," replied Tyrania. "Go clean out the torture chamber, there's skeletons in every one of my toys."

"Yes, my Empress," said the Gargoyle with a nod.

"Dismissed," said Tyrania, allowing the Gargoyle to go about his orders. "Oh how much fun this'll be! I do hope their screams will be blood curdling, those are the best kind!"

Tyrania laughed hysterically as lightning crackled around her, briefly illuminating a winged shape in the cloud.

* * *

Yes, Cyros' power will show up again, it wasn't just a chance to give her a villain song. Anyway, yes, I agreed that not giving Spyro a chance to face an upgraded incarnation of his fears was a mistake and I fixed it. Another dragon? I wonder how that will turn out? And now we meet Empress Tyrania, creepy thing, isn't she? Anyway, see you later! Hope you enjoyed it!


	12. Into The Unknown

Hello everyone, time for a new chapter! Today, we finally head into the Unknown Realms! And we learn a bit more about Deadlock, as well as Tyrania's past and the land she rules. Cynder also gets a gift from her dad, you'll have to wait and see about that! Enjoy!

* * *

**Into The Unknown**

"_The Gargoyle's territory is known as the Forgotten Forest. It's a rainforest that centuries ago housed a powerful civilization, watched over by the true Gargoyles, others of Tyrania's race. Tyrania betrayed her own kind and those they protected to invaders, then betrayed and destroyed the invaders as well. With this act, Tyrania became the last true Gargoyle, and gained control over this land and all who live in it," explained Ignitus in the dreams of each of the group that night. "Beware, young dragons, for Tyrania rules this land with an iron claw, and knows no mercy…"_

* * *

_Cynder woke up in what appeared to be the old dragon temple. "How did I get here?" she asked, confused._

"_Cynder…" said Ignitus, smiling down to her, back to his old appearance. He nuzzled her. "I did my best to make it comfortable for you here. After all the horrible dreams that Deadlock put you through, I felt you deserved a sweet dream."_

_Cynder smiled, nuzzling him back. "Thank you so much, dad…" she said, grateful. "…What do you mean horrible dreams? She only gave me one…"_

_Ignitus shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not, the dreams you've been having were not simply memories but Deadlock tormenting you with your past…" he explained. "But it's over now, so long as I'm here, she can't touch you," he reassured. "Don't worry, you're safe now."_

_Cynder relaxed, relieved that it was over. Still, it scared her Deadlock had been invading her dreams for so long. "But what about Spyro?"_

"_My bond with him is strong, don't worry. If she invades his dreams, I will chase her out," Ignitus reassured. "I'm sorry it took me so long, but unlike with Spyro, I was not immediately aware she was invading your dreams…don't worry about that now, all that matters is I can protect you here, like a father should…"_

_Cynder nodded, smiling up at her father joyfully. "Thanks dad…that means a lot."_

_Ignitus nodded softly. "It means a lot for me as well, Cynder…" he replied, standing up. "Now…I did some research for you, would you like to learn a few things that might help you on your journey?"_

_Cynder nodded. "Sure, anything that can help get the eggs back…"_

_Ignitus reverted back to his Chronicler self. "You have four powers that no other dragon possesses, Poison, Shadow, Wind, and Fear. These elements were created by Malefor, he was the only one with the knowledge of them, until I researched their secrets," he explained, putting his paw on her head. "I will now pass what I've learned onto you…"_

_Cynder suddenly heard voices speaking to her loudly in her head, but merely cringed and bared it until her father removed his paw, reverting back to his normal self. "I…I don't understand…" she responded, unsure of what just happened. Her mind was racing and she couldn't make sense of it._

"_You'll know, when the time is right," said Ignitus, reassuringly. "For now, let's enjoy our time together, like father and daughter, shall we?"_

_Cynder couldn't agree more and nodded, following her father into her dream…_

* * *

The next morning, the three stood at the boundary to the Unknown Realms once again. "Alright, so we're about to cross over a boundary into a land full of monster that are going to try and kill us," said Sparx, annoyed. "That sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"Doing what's right isn't always easy, Sparx," said Spyro, sometimes annoyed with his brother's attitude.

Cynder nodded. "Still, makes a good point. At least last time we knew what we were dealing with, the only things here we know are enemies are the Gargoyles and the Naga."

Ember looked to the other three. "I know some things about being in the wild. Me and mom stayed in a forest, it wasn't quite like this but maybe I can help."

"That will come in handy," said Spyro, having forgotten that despite her childish personality, Ember was raised in the wild with her mother. "I grew up in a swamp, but mom and dad made the more dangerous areas off limits."

"Why don't you tell us something to watch out for?" asked Cynder, seeing Ember get her 'flirty look' at Spyro's compliment and cutting her off.

"Well let's see," said Ember, thinking. "Mom always said never eat anything with bright colors, cause the bright colors are a warning they taste nasty and they're poisonous."

Sparx was just about to eat a monarch butterfly when she said that and stopped, batting it away. "Ok…what else?"

"I think it'd be better if she told us as she sees it," said Spyro, realizing they had to get moving as he watched the sun rise above the trees. "We've got to get moving if we want to get far enough along before nightfall," he stated, getting nods from most everyone.

"One more thing," said Cynder. "For now we've got the element of surprise on our side, we should try to keep it."

Spyro nodded. "That's a good idea, move quietly and try not to let any Naga or Gargoyle see us."

Cynder looked at Sparx. "Emphasis on _quietly_," she said, glaring at him.

"What?" asked Sparx, shrugging.

"Well you talk a lot," said Ember innocently, showing her naivety when it came to communication and not realizing she was rather blunt.

"I don't talk a lot!" replied Sparx, insulted.

The parrot cawed from the forest. "You talk a lot!"

Sparx blinked, shocked. "Why won't that thing leave me alone?"

"I think it finally found someone who talks as much as it does," said Cynder, giving a smirk.

As Sparx sulked Ember looked to the others. "Hey, did anyone else hear Mr. Ignitus talking to them last night?" asked Ember, noticing the dream she had.

Spyro and Cynder both nodded, and to there surprise, so did Sparx. "I guess dad just wanted to tell us what we're dealing with…" said Cynder. "I did have a dream about being with him…maybe it wasn't a dream…" she continued, remembering what Ignitus said, but still didn't understand what she'd been taught, so she'd assumed it was a dream.

Spyro nodded. "Maybe…he is your father after all," he said with a small smile, before leading them forwards.

Cynder paused, thinking. She then smiled slowly and followed, trying to decipher what she'd been told.

* * *

Pyrus looked over the map of Deadlock's territory one last time in preparation. "Alright…they're in Gargoyle turf, all the way in the Forgotten Forest…" he said, nervous. "That's a long way away…but at least I've got right of passage, since I'm the prince…still, won't be easy," he stated. "Maybe I should just stay here and wait for them…" he muttered, unsure of himself. Then he remembered Cyros' words, how she told him he couldn't make it out there. How he'd not last long. He then got a more serious look. "No, I have to do this…I have to prove to Cyros I can…" he said, heading towards the mouth of the cave. "…But what if mom notices I'm gone?" he asked. "Well…she hasn't left that room for awhile, she only left before because we were right in front of it. She's really caught up in that ritual she's doing…the one I can't let her finish…" he continued, knowing that nothing, in his mind, was worth an innocent life. They'd been told the stories of the temple raid, the thought of so much death was deeply imbedded in his mind. He couldn't bare the thought of innocent blood being split, it wasn't right.

Pyrus then gave it some thought, maybe he should talk to her about it first…she probably wouldn't listen, but it was worth a try…maybe.

Pyrus went to the door to Deadlock's chamber and knocked. "Mom?" he asked, worriedly.

Deadlock opened the door slowly, looking down lovingly at her child. "Yes, Pyrus? You want something sweetheart?" asked the ice head, nuzzling her child.

Pyrus wondered how he should voice his concerns. "Mom…what are you going to do with those eggs?"

Deadlock was taken off guard. "Well…why are you asking such a thing?" asked the fire head, trying to avoid telling her son, but the concern on her face was clear.

"I heard you talking…are you really going to sacrifice them?" asked Pyrus, concern on his face.

Deadlock gave a sigh, not wanting to tell her beloved prince what she was doing out of fear of alienating him like what had happened with Cyros. "Dear…yes, we are but…" said the ice head, unable to lie to her baby.

"You don't understand, Pyrus…" said the electric head, knowing it was wrong, but not seeing any other choice.

"But you told us about the temple, what happened there…" said Pyrus. "Everything you lost…" he said, showing sorrow. "Do you really want to put another family through the same thing?"

Deadlock showed sorrow, agreeing but disagreeing at the same time. "Pyrus…you…you just don't understand," said the fire head, mellowing out to talk to her child. "We've tried everything else we possibly could…"

"What are you trying to do?" asked Pyrus, wondering what Deadlock was really trying to do.

Deadlock looked conflicted even more. "We…we don't know if it will work…you don't need to know…not yet," said the electric head, uncertain and conflicted. She didn't want to tell him, she was afraid that he'd condemn for it, for something she'd spent 24 years preparing for. She was afraid because in her heart, she knew she'd agree with him and she didn't want to stop when she was so close to succeeding. She knew it was wrong, she didn't want to do it…but she couldn't give up when she was so close…

"It might not work and you're doing it anyway?" asked Pyrus, shocked. "You'll kill innocent eggs for something that might not work? Mom…is it worth the risk?" he asked, trying to get through to her.

Deadlock looked down, as if seriously considering his question. She turned around so he wouldn't see her sorrow filled faces. "To us it is…" said the ice head slowly, regret in her face, but it was clear whatever this ritual would do was of personal importance to the three-headed dragon. "We wouldn't be doing it if we had any other options left…"

"And even if it doesn't work…" said the fire head, seriously. "We still will have made the ones responsible for our pain to feel the same as we did. The raid is all Spyro's fault, the blood of our beloved Andreas and our second clutch is on his head," she said, anger welling up in her face. "And the blood of our first clutch…is on Cynder's…"

Pyrus gasped. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing…" said the ice head, anger present there too. "Forget it, go play…" she said, not wanting him to be involved in this even more than he already was. "We love you, Pyrus…but you just wouldn't understand…you weren't there…" she explained, sadly as she closed the door with her tail.

Pyrus looked conflicted, unsure what to think. But he knew one thing, Spyro was born the night of the raid, it wasn't his fault but Malefor's fault. If his mother was blaming the wrong person that time, then there was a good chance she blamed the wrong person for her first clutch. "I'm sorry too mom…but I can't let you do this…" he whispered, turning and heading for the cave mouth. If she'd be content with revenge alone if this didn't work, he knew it wasn't worth the sacrifice. He knew it was important to Deadlock, but that didn't make it right…

* * *

Spyro lead the group carefully through the forest, being extra quiet. He then heard voices and shushed everyone. "Let's move quietly," he whispered. "See if we can overhear what they're talking about," he said, sneaking forwards. In a clearing in front of them were a pair of warrior Nagas talking, several of the drone Gargoyles waiting dumbly with them.

"The Gargoyles really need help dealing with this Drake and his band, huh?" asked one of the Naga, sounding disappointed.

"Well I wouldn't put much stake in it, Empress Tyrania is the only Gargoyle with any brains at all," replied the other one, waving a hand in the face of one of the drones. "These brutes couldn't find a full grown dragon right under their noses."

The first Naga chuckled. "Yeah yeah, I know," he said, sighing. "Still, I hear Drake is a pretty tough fellow himself, can tear a Gargoyle in half with his bare hands is what I've heard. And his clan are supposedly tough as nails too."

"Yeah, but you know what they say, all brawn, no brain," said the other Naga, tapping his own head for emphasis. "If we catch him, Empress Tyrania will give us a nice reward, we both want that, right?"

The other Naga shrugged. "Maybe, she's a monster to her own kind so I wouldn't bet on it. But I'm sure Queen Deadlock will reward us," he said, clearly fond of Deadlock. "Probably more than Tyrania would."

The first Naga nodded in response. "Yeah, can't believe I'm saying it about a dragon, but best queen we've ever had," he replied before raising his sword and motioning the group on.

Once they left, Spyro popped out of the bush and watched them leave. "Drake?" he asked. "I wonder who that is."

"I don't know, but he sounds scary and I think we should stay far away from him," said Sparx, looking a little scared.

Cynder looked to the others. "But from the sound of things, this Drake and his clan are enemies of the Gargoyles and Naga."

Ember nodded. "So even if he's scary to them, he might be nice to us because we have the same enemy."

Spyro nodded. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," he stated. "If we find him, then we might be able to get him to help us out."

"Seriously? You want to go find a creature that the Gargoyles are afraid of?" asked Sparx in disbelief. "Something big, snarling, stone monsters are afraid of? Are you crazy?"

"Sparx, remember Kane and his people?" asked Spyro. "They ended up being allies. So did Chief Prowlus when we helped him out."

"Yeah, and remember the big pirate…dog…things that smacked you in the back of the head and drug us off to some horrible arena to fight to the death!" replied Sparx. "And that thing Kane's tribe worshipped that tried to crush you when you were trying to help?"

"I hate to say it, but the bug has a point," said Cynder. "We might want to figure out more about this Drake before we go charging off to find him."

Ember nodded, seeing the logic. "He could be nice…but then again he could be a meanie and try to hurt us…"

Spyro gave it some thought and nodded. "Good point, but that doesn't mean we can't try to find some more out about him," he said, turning and heading into the woods, the others following.

As they walked, Sparx noticed something. "Why are we walking again?" he asked. "All of us can fly…"

"Because the Gargoyles can too and the forest covers us," said Cynder. "We don't want to be seen if we can avoid it," she explained. "Understand?"

Sparx nodded. "But I'm still worried. It's about this time we run into something trying to kill us."

As the others talked, Ember saw a yellow flower growing nearby. "Pretty," she said, going over and sniffing it.

Spyro looked over at Ember and smiled at first, then gasped, noticing a large, yellow, Venus Flytrap-like plant rise out from behind the bush, mouth open. "Ember! Look out!" he yelled, tackling her out of the way as it tried to clamp shut on her, giving the plant just a mouthful of dirt.

Ember blinked, seeing what almost happened and that Spyro just saved her. She smiled up at him. "Thanks Spyro, you saved me," she said, getting hot under the scales and giving him a flirtatious grin.

"Uh…we should go deal with the plant!" said Spyro, getting off of her as the now angry plant sent spiked vines out and tried to hit them.

Cynder charged forwards and slashed the monster's vines with her tail but it merely sent more out. "This thing doesn't know when to quit!" she shouted, slicing through the vines and charging forwards, stabbing it in the base of the neck.

The plant roared and snapped at Cynder, forcing her to jump back. Spyro flew forwards and smashed it over the head with an Earth Flail, but didn't get a major reaction other than angering it. As it sent vines at him, he let loose his ice breath, freezing them solid and killing them. Seeing this, he started freezing the plant's base, getting it to roar in pain. Unfortunately, it kept breaking free before he could completely freeze it. Ember took advantage of this, however, and launched a fire bomb into it's open mouth, the explosion blowing it apart and leaving behind a flaming plant and some gems.

"Put it out, quick!" said Ember to Spyro quickly.

Spyro nodded and used his ice breath to put out the fire as quickly as possible. "Good idea, Ember."

"Yeah, don't want the Gargoyles to see the smoke from that thing," said Cynder, having had the same idea.

Ember blinked naively. "I was just doing what mom always told me to do; always put out a fire in the woods, so it doesn't start a forest fire."

Cynder nodded, understanding that Ember wouldn't know warfare tactics all that well just yet. "That's a good point too," she admitted, which it was. Didn't want to set a centuries old forest on fire, that wouldn't end well either.

"Yeah yeah, congratulations," said Sparx. "But can I add something?…What the heck was that thing?"

"I don't know," said Spyro. "It wasn't a normal old Frog Weed, that's for sure."

"It tried to eat me!" said Ember, a little shaken by that. "It's defiantly not friendly!"

"Well it's not like we shouldn't have expected it," said Cynder, well aware of predators and such. "Swamps and forests back home had their predators too."

"I think it used that yellow flower to trick me," said Ember. "Like bait, shame, I was going to give it to Spyro as a gift," she said, batting her eyelids at Spyro.

"Um…that's nice of you," replied Spyro, uncomfortable as he tried to avoid the situation getting more awkward than it already was.

Cynder growled at Ember's statement but caught herself, seeing another yellow flower nearby. "Let's test that theory, Spyro, shoot a lightning bolt at that flower," she said, partly to distract Ember and partly because it was probably a good idea to figure out how the things hunted.

Spyro nodded, glad to have the change of subject, and fired a bolt of lightning from his mouth, blasting the flower. The reaction was another giant plant erupting from the ground behind it and roaring in pain as electricity surgered through it. "Looks like you were right!" said Spyro, now having to dodge a spear like vine from it. Yeah, they now had another one of these things to deal with, but at least they knew how they hunted and could avoid being ambushed again.

"Remember, get it to roar and fire into it's mouth!" said Ember, dodging a vine and getting scratched on the leg by it's thorns.

"I've got it," said Cynder, taking a deep breath and tried to use her wind breath, but instead, something else suddenly entered her mind, causing her to make the wind condense into a compact sphere in her mouth, which she fired at the plant. It exploded on impact with a small shockwave, causing the plant to roar in pain. This let Spyro fire a stream of ice down it's throat, freezing it from the inside out, allowing him to shatter it with a Earth Missile.

"Ow…" muttered Ember, looking at the blood dripping down her leg. Cynder gave her a red gem, which she shattered and healed herself with. "Thanks Cynder."

Cynder nodded, unable to really stay mad at Ember long. After all, mentally, Ember was just a child socially, she just didn't know any better. "You're welcome, no bit deal," she replied, giving a smile to the pink dragoness. "I'm sorry, I just needed to find out if that was how it hunted or not."

Ember smiled. "It's ok, I understand. I really should've know better in the first place, mom always said to never go near plants that you don't know what they are, cause they might be poisonous."

"Let's move on before another one of those things shows up," said Spyro, moving the group forwards. "By the way, Cynder, what was that attack you used? I've never seen you do that before."

Cynder was equally confused. "I don't know, I think it was something dad taught me in my dream," she replied. "He said he was going to teach me some new techniques and I didn't understand at the time, I guess I figured it out."

* * *

The Gargoyle from before returned to the tower roof. "My Empress, the torture chamber is cleared out, as per your orders," he explained, bowing.

"Good," replied Tyrania from her cloud. "And what of that troop I sent into the forest to examine that temple?"

"They've found relics there, but nothing important so far," replied the Gargoyle.

"Good," said Tyrania. "Very good, I do hope they find gold, I'm running out of gold for the castle trimmings," she said. "That's all…I'm going to kill you now," she explained, before the Gargoyle could respond, a surge of dark fire erupted from the cloud and blasted him to bits. Tyrania gave an evil laugh at the murder of her own minion. "Oh that was so much fun! But the problem with killing Gargoyles is they never scream! I do hope those dragons are screamers!" she exclaimed, gleeful at the thought of torturing innocent people. "Still, I do wonder what secrets my old friends kept in that temple, I do hope something shiny that'll impress Deadlock if she ever comes…I wonder why she never visits me, it's like she doesn't trust me," she said, then recalled how she had a nasty habit of backstabbing people. "Smart girl…"

* * *

Spyro blasted another of the plants with ice while Ember burned away its vines, allowing Cynder to send a blast of green poison down it's throat. The plant collapsed into a heap, the poison taking effect on it's body and killing it. "I hate these things," said Cynder, breaking some gems to regain her energy.

Ember nodded, doing the same. "I hope we can reach a safer place soon…"

Spyro broke a gem to heal a cut on his shoulder. "Me too, the jungle is slow going, but we've got no other choice really…"

"Hey guys! Come over here!" called Sparx, waving from a bush, the dragons flying over the bush to see what was going on.. On the other side was a large, ornately decorated tunnel opening in the side of a mountain. At both sides were statues of large, crane-like birds with fiery wings and feathers. "Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah!" said Ember, jumping around and looking at the statues. "What are they?"

"Don't know," said Spyro, curious himself. "But I don't think we have time to check it out."

Cynder walked up to the tunnel mouth, torches automatically lighting in response to her presence. She looked up at the flames, noticing they were being blown their way. "There's wind coming through this tunnel," she said, thinking.

"So?" asked Sparx, lightly scratching his back, itching for some reason. "What does that mean?"

"It means there must be an opening on the other side of the mountain," explained Spyro, getting what Cynder was thinking, not noticing that a mosquito had started chasing Sparx around. "And this mountain is between us and Gargoyle City."

"If we go through it, it might be faster," said Ember, picking up what was being said.

Cynder gave a nod. "Going through the mountain is quicker than going around it."

Sparx grabbed a stick and started trying to fend off the mosquito with it. "If it'll get us away from the monsters trying to kill us, I'm up for it!" he said, before Cynder smacked the mosquito away with her tail. "Thanks…"

"Alright, it's settled then, let's go," said Spyro, starting into the tunnel, the others following.

As they walked, Ember examined the walls, seeing pictures of the fiery birds from the front, going about their daily lives and such. "Hey, do you think these bird thingies are what Mr. Ignitus told us about?"

"You mean the race that the Gargoyles used to protect?" asked Cynder, getting a nod from Ember. "That might be…" she said, right as they walked into a chamber, what was inside was rather surprising.

"I don't think "might" covers it," said Sparx, looking at a large statue of a Gargoyle standing in the middle of the room, torches on both sides as well as eight bird statues pointed looking at a slot in the wall next to the Gargoyle, where the wind was coming from.

* * *

Pyrus reached the edge of the cave and spread his wings, taking off into the Unknown Realms. "I wouldn't be surprised if Cyros has some tricks in store for me, but I can do it," he stated, flying into the forest and staying close to the ground. He didn't want someone to spot him so close to Serpents Edge, he didn't want Deadlock to know he was gone after all. "Let's hope I can make it in time…" he said, determined. He couldn't let this happen. He knew this meant a lot to his mother, but unborn dragons weren't a reasonable sacrifice for anything…

* * *

"Looks like these things worshiped the Gargoyles or something," said Cynder, amazed as she investigated the room.

Spyro nodded, looking around, noticing a sealed door on the other side. "There's no way forwards though," he said. "It's a dead end."

Ember looked up at the Gargoyle, noticing a slot at the same level in it's head as the one were the wind was coming through. "Hey guys, look," she said pointing. "Think maybe it's a puzzle?"

"You may be onto something," said Cynder, looking it over and noticing a channel in the floor from the Gargoyle to the slot in the wall. She walked over to the side of the Gargoyle. "Help me push this thing," she said, Ember and Spyro joining her in pushing the statue. They got it moving and lined it up with the slot in the wall, causing the eyes to light up green and the door to shake, receding into the ceiling.

"Good job, Cynder!" said Spyro, smiling to his mate.

"That was smart," said Ember, patting Cynder on the back.

"Hey, you're the one who figured out how it worked," said Cynder, reminding Ember of her role in it to reinforce her. She knew now the pink dragoness had insecurities when it came to her role on the team. Yet another reason her and Spyro were being careful not to hurt her feelings. They wanted to make her think she belonged.

Spyro lead the group forwards down the passage and they soon came to another large chamber, a small group of real Gargoyles searching around, accompanied by one warrior. "And those are the bad Gargoyles…" said Sparx, cowering behind Spyro's head. He started scratching his back again, why was it itching so much?

"We can't move on with them in the chamber," said Spyro, knowing they couldn't solve the puzzle while fending off Gargoyles. "But we've already come a good distance in, and if there are Gargoyles here, they can't be up to any good."

Ember nodded. "Tyrania is the last one, and she's a big meanie, so these must be bad guys."

The Gargoyles finally noticed them. "The dragons," the Warrior Gargoyle said with a snarl. "Get them!" he ordered, sending the Drones after them.

Ember and Cynder jumped forwards, Ember striking one of the Drones in the chest with her Comet Dash, tackling it to the ground and slashing it's face twice. She dodged a counter slash and blasted it in the face with fire, finishing it off. She saw another charging her and blasted him in the face with a fire bomb, knocking him off his feet and allowing her to fly forwards with a Comet Dash to finish it off.

Cynder met her opponent in midair, doing a stair step kick to it's chest, the final kick knocking it backwards into another one. She followed up with a blast of her Banshee Scream, paralyzing them with fear and allowing her to finish the job by flying up and flapping her wings, forming a blade of air which flew forwards and bisected them. Cynder blinked, confused by the attack. "Looks like something else that dad taught me," she said, giving a smile, enjoying her new powers.

Spyro took on the Warrior Gargoyle, dodging the mace he was wielding but getting bashed in the face with his shield, knocking him back. Cynder and Ember, finished with the Drones, joined the fight. Cynder dove into her shadow and surged behind the Gargoyle, taking his legs out with a slash to the back of the knees while Ember collided with his chest with a Comet Dash, toppling him to the ground. This allowed Spyro to form an Earth Flail, which he slammed into the Gargoyle's chest. Cynder then took her turn, landing on the Warrior's chest and driving her tail blade into the cracked area where Spyro hit, before jumping out of the way and letting Ember score the killing blow with Comet Dash to the same area, shattering the Gargoyle.

"Good job, now let's see what we've got to do here," said Spyro, looking at the room, this one having two statues, a Gargoyle with the slot like before and one of the birds with a torch in it's wings at the same height as the Gargoyle's head. "I think we need to light the bird's torch, but that might be a trap."

"Well, let's push the Gargoyle into place and see what happens," said Cynder, doing just that with the help of the others, but nothing happened.

"Well that didn't work," said Sparx. "What now?" he asked, using a piece of rubble to scratch his back, which now had a rash.

Ember looked at the bird's torch and noticed the track on the floor. "Hey, maybe we need to line it up with the Gargoyle…"

"Might as well try it," said Spyro, helping push the bird into place, but still having no reaction. "What now?"

"Maybe we need to light it after all. It's got a torch," asked Cynder.

Before Cynder could continue and tell them to be cautious about it, Ember instantly blew fire on the torch, lighting it. The wind from the Gargoyle blew the fire out, causing smoke to rise into a hole in the ceiling. Immediately afterwards, a door next to the Gargoyle statue opened.

Cynder was about to admonish Ember for being rash, but remembered her childish personality. "Good job, Ember," she said. "But next time, please don't do it right away, ok?"

Ember nodded. "Alright…sorry, I forgot it might be a trap…" she said, kind of upset she hadn't remembered to be careful..

"It's alright, Ember, no harm done," said Spyro, giving her a smile.

Ember smiled back. "Thanks Spyro," she replied, grateful to have friends.

"Let's keep moving," interrupted Cynder, before Ember could slip back into her flirt mode. She then looked as Sparx scratched his back on a wall. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know!" said Sparx, unable to stand the itching.

Ember blinked. "Did you touch a weird plant? A vine with clutches of three leaves?"

"Yeah, in that bush back there, why?" asked Sparx, scratching all over.

"That was poison ivy," said Ember simply.

"Poison what?" asked Sparx, blinking.

"It's a plant that uses a poison to protect itself," explained Ember, feeling bad for Sparx. "It really itches, but it doesn't hurt…unless you eat it, that's why mom warned me about it, it doesn't effect dragons skin because we have scales."

"How do I make it stop?" asked Sparx, scratching more.

"Spyro, make some ice for him to put on it," said Ember, her mother having taught her what to do. "That'll help some."

Spyro nodded, making some for him with his ice breath and breaking it into shards small enough for him to use before giving it to him. "Now let's hurry," he said, knowing Sparx was uncomfortable, but they had to keep moving.

They continued to the next room, which had two sets of the statues from before, as well as a huge throne in the far side of the room, a large number of pictures on the wall behind it. The Phoenix statues were closest to it while the Gargoyle statues were on the opposite side of the room.

"Well this room looks important…" said Sparx, looking around as he kept ice on his rash.

"Yeah, looks like a throne room," said Spyro, looking up at the drawings on the wall behind the throne. One depicted the Gargoyles, including quite a few gigantic ones which were in shadow, stood watch over the fire birds. The next depicted a mysterious invading force the Gargoyles fought against with the birds while the third showed one of the Gargoyles adding the enemy. The fourth showed the birds at the mercy of the other Gargoyle and the invading force. After that was blank wall.

"It looks like story," said Ember, paying close attention.

Cynder nodded. "It looks like what Ignitus said, the Gargoyles once watched over these birds until Tyrania betrayed them…what a monster…"

Spyro snarled. "How could someone betray their own species like this? And those they protected?"

"Malefor did…" said Ember, remembering the stories. To most dragons, Malefor was like the boogeyman.

"Tyrania and Malefor must be a lot alike," said Cynder, turning back to the statues. "Let's hurry up and set up the statues, the sooner we kick Tyrania's tail the better," she announced, now furious. Tyrania was a monster, no different from Malefor in that all she cared for was power and would kill innocents to get it.

This time, one of each statues was blue and the other was red. "So do we line up the same colored statues?" asked Spyro, trying to figure it out.

"No, it wouldn't be that easy," said Cynder, knowing it wouldn't be as easy as it seemed. "Then again, the security in this place has been up against Gargoyles."

Ember looked around at the statues, noticing the blue bird statue looked away from the throne and red one was the opposite. "Hey, if we switched the red and blue statues, they'd both be staring at the throne…"

Spyro looked over the situation and nodded. "Good idea, Ember," he said, smiling.

Ember giggled. "Thanks Spyro," she said, but Spyro hurried along to move the statues before she could take the opportunity to flirt, which irritated her a bit. It wasn't enough to really bother her though.

The trio pushed the statues into place and looked at the Gargoyles. "Alright, what do we do with them?" asked Spyro, looking them over.

Cynder looked at them closely, noticing the wind channels in them. The red one was the sun and the blue the moon. She looked at the walls, seeing the air vent in a picture of the sun and another in a picture of the moon. "They've got slots like those pictures, we probably need to line those up."

Spyro nodded, aiding her in pushing them into place, getting the air channel ready. "Alright, let's light them, Ember," he said, preparing his fire breath and sending a stream of flame into the blue statue while Ember sent one into the red.

The wind seemed to pick up, causing the fire to be blown onto the throne, lighting a flame in it's seat as a pile of strange ashes rose into the flames from inside. At first, nothing happened. "Well that was a waste of time…" said Sparx, impatient as his ice had all melted and he started itching again.

"Just wait a second, Sparx, we might have missed something," said Spyro.

Suddenly the room seemed to shake and the floor around the statues started descending, taking the dragons with it. "W-what's going on?" asked Ember, startled.

"It's ok, Ember," said Cynder, trying to calm the pink dragoness down. "I think this is what's supposed to happen…" she said, hoping she was right.

The elevator finally came to a stop at the bottom of a shaft, a massive statue of a two-legged dragon-like creature standing before them. It had large leathery wings, but no arms, instead having massive hind legs. It's head was bird-like, complete with a beak an feathers, which went all the way down it's neck, including a row of larger ones going from the top of it's head to the tip of it's tail.

"Man, that's one ugly statue," said Sparx. "Think it's related to you guys?" he asked, recognizing it's dragon parts.

"Not any dragon I've ever heard of before," said Spyro, confused.

"You have faced the temples trials," said a motherly voice. "But to move on further, you must do battle with the Cockatrice."

"Cocka-what?" asked Sparx, trying to resist scratching anymore, since it was starting to blister slightly. "And why is there always a mysterious disembodied voice telling us what to do?"

"I don't like the sound of that…" said Spyro, looking up around as fire snaked down from the throne room into the statue.

The statue's eye ignited, then shattered, revealing a reptilian eye beneath it. Stone shattered off of it's wings, revealing green scales and red wing membranes. It's tail broke free from the rock, sharing the scale color of the wings. It's legs broke free, revealing black claws. Finally, the remaining stone shattered off entirely, revealing a red underbelly, the feathers on the head and neck brown and the longer ones red, a grey beak completing the look. The newly freed Cockatrice let loose a fierce roar, stomping towards the group.

"I think that's the Cockatrice," said Ember, scared, but managing to regain her composure.

"Well the voice said we'll need to beat it to get out of here," said Cynder. "Then again, can't blame them for having good security for what they had left," she said, taking a battle stance along with Ember and Spyro. She knew whatever creatures Tyrania had betrayed had every right to protect their temple with whatever the could, even a monster like this.

The Cockatrice roared and charged full speed, trying to bite the three dragons, forcing them to dodge, only to be blown back with it's wings. As they got back to their feet, the creature let out a gust of brown sand from it's mouth, forcing the group to dodge, a layer of grey rock forming over whatever the attack hit.

"Uh oh…" said Ember, startled.

"Better avoid it's breath, that's for sure," said Spyro, before giving the Cockatrice a blast of his Earth Shot, bombarding it with green energy and rock, managing to force it back. It replied by swinging it's tail around trying to hit him. Spyro managed to dodge barely, Cynder taking the opportunity to blast it with the wind cutter from before, cutting it's face and earning a roar of pain.

Ember watched the creature use it's breath at Cynder, the black dragoness dodging gracefully. Taking advantage, she flew over it's back, letting loose a stream of fire on it's back. But as she flew over it's head, it blasted her with it's breath, coating her with stone completely. As she fell, it swung around and smacked her hard with it's tail, shattering the rock off and slamming her against the wall.

"Ember!" yelled Cynder, concerned.

"I'm ok…" groaned Ember, standing back up and breaking off the coating of stone which still remained. "That hurt though…" she said, before taking flight again and bombarding it with Fire Bombs, blasting the Cockatrice back.

The furious creature roared and took flight itself, chasing her, trying to blast her with it's breath again.

Spyro snarled, but got an idea. "Ember! Lead it this way!" he yelled, getting in position.

Ember nodded and dove towards Spyro, leading the Cockatrice over him. As it came to him, Spyro formed an Earth Flail and swung it down, smashing the Cockatrice on the head and sending it crashing to the ground. "You got him!" yelled Ember, landing, heart racing.

"It's not finished yet," said Cynder as the monster got back to it's feet. It tried to use it's stone breath on them, but Cynder spun around, generating a tornado and scattering it.

"Cynder, that gives me an idea!" said Spyro. "Give this thing a taste of it's own medicine!"

Cynder nodded, blasting the Cockatrice in the chest with her Poison Breath to anger it, causing it to retaliate with it's stone breath. Cynder countered with the wind sphere from before, collecting it's breath in the sphere and launching it back. The sphere collided with it's chest, exploding and scattering it's own stone breath on it, coating it in rock.

"Now!" called Spyro, letting loose his Lightning Breath, Cynder using her Poison and Ember firing streams of flames. The Cockatrice was bombarded and blasted hard to the ground as the stone shattered off it.

The wounded monster snarled, getting back to it's feet and flapping it's wings blowing them back. Before they could recover, it spread it's wings and flew straight at them, grabbing Spyro and Cynder and pinning them to the wall. It prepared to use it's stone breath on them, but Ember blasted it in the face with her fire, burning it's eyes and making it release Spyro and Cynder in agony. The two dragons took flight and Spyro blasted the Cockatrice's face with an Earth Missile, Cynder coating her tail in poison and slashing it across the cheek, both attacks wounding it further but mostly enraging it. Cynder couldn't retreat in time and got blasted with it's stone breath, getting covered in rock and falling to the ground.

Cynder groaned, shaking off the remaining rock that wasn't shattered in the hard landing. "This thing just won't go down…"

Ember dove at the creature's back but even mid-flight it managed to smash her to the ground with it's tail. "Ow…it hits pretty hard too…" she moaned, getting to her feet and shaking it off, bruised and now sporting a black eye.

Spyro blasted the creature's face with ice but it countered, coating his wings with stone and sending him falling to the ground. "Cynder, try sending it's breath back at it again," he asked, shacking off the impact and breaking off the stone from his wings.

Cynder nodded, waiting for it to come at them with it's stone breath again, Cynder using her Wind Sphere to return the attack right back, hitting it in the head and covering it in stone once more. The flying monster, petrified mid-flight, crashed hard into the wall. As it rose from the shattered stone, it carried a limp on it's right leg but still refused to go down. Ember took advantage by flying over it and letting loose a torrent of flames down it's back, lighting it's row of feathers on fire, causing it to roar out in agony and take flight to try and extinguish it.

"I have an idea!" said Cynder. She waited for the Cockatrice to come at them again and blasted it in the face with Shadow Fire, blinding and choking it. Unable to see, it landed and began blasting it's stone breath everywhere in an attempt to counterattack, accidentally coating itself in stone. "Alright, not what I had in mind, but that works," she said, having intended it to crash into the wall. Before something else entered her mind, another thing her father had taught her. "I think I've got something, stand back!" she commanded before she leapt forwards.

Cynder's eyes lit up white as she floated up into the air, a miniature cyclone forming around her, growing larger and larger into a massive tornado, sucking the petrified Cockatrice into the vortex as Spyro grabbed Ember and took cover from the attack. The Cockatrice was tossed around inside the tornado, hammered by rubble caught up in the cyclone before the twister imploded on itself, smashing the Cockatrice with tremendous force.

Badly wounded, the Cockatrice let out one last screech as it began reverting back to it's statue state, plummeting from the sky and shattering on impact, finally defeated.

Cynder collapsed from the strain of the fight along with using an attack she'd never used before. "Cynder, are you ok?" asked Spyro, helping her up.

"Yeah, never used a Wind Fury before…didn't even know it existed…" said Cynder, panting from fatigue. "You can thank dad for teaching me."

"Wow! That was awesome!" said Ember, continuing to gush about the attack like the fan girl she was, causing sender to get hot under the scales from the excessive praise.

Sparx finally came out of hiding as the floor began moving back up. "Wow…you guys took a beating…" he said, eyes twitching as he tried not to scratch the poison ivy.

Cynder nodded, all three of them battered and bruised from the fight. "Ember, your eye…" she muttered, looking at Ember's black eye.

Ember whined. "I know…but I'll be ok, don't worry…too bad that thing didn't leave behind some gems."

Spyro nodded. "I know, we could really use them…" he said, as the floor returned to it's original position, the fire returning from the destroyed Cockatrice to the throne it once occupied.

"Spyro, look!" said Cynder, seeing the fire began to contort and change, the ashes having been completely burned up.

Suddenly, the fire erupted upwards and took on the shape similar to the statues, yellow eyes inside of it's head. The form took shape into a specter like bird, yellow feathers on its chest, neck, and most of it's face, red on the rest of it, including a crest of feathers on it's head, it's neck long.

"Oh great, I knew this was a bad idea!" said Sparx, hiding behind Spyro. "It's going to try and kill us! Right after something else tried to kill us!"

The firebird looked to each of them slowly, the three dragons unsure of what it's intentions were. It took flight and flew around them, releasing embers from its body that floated into their wounds, healing them to full health and restoring their energy. It then seemed to stop and stare at Ember for a few moments, then let out a melodic cry and then glowed brightly, forcing the group to shield their eyes, leaving them unable to see. When the light faded, the bird was gone…

Spyro could just stare at were the bird had been, same with Cynder and Ember. "What was that?" he finally asked. It was strange, the call had made him suddenly feel braver and more determined than ever.

"I think one of those birds from the pictures…" said Cynder, stunned. Whatever had just happened was a mystery to her. But like Spyro, she'd felt emboldened by the cry of the creature.

Ember nodded. "It was so pretty…" she said, smiling lightly. She too, felt the strange determination wash over her from the firebird's call. "And look! It healed us!" she said, looking herself over, then touching her eye and finding it restored to normal. "My eye is all better!"

Spyro nodded, giving a smile. "I guess it didn't want to leave us beaten up from fighting the Cockatrice."

Ember nodded. "It was a really nice bird, that's for sure," she said, then looked back and saw a door had opened on the other side of the room, sunlight coming through. "Hey look!" she said, pointing.

"The door must've opened when it blinded us," said Spyro, startled.

"Alright…I guess it didn't want to kill us…" said Sparx, slightly embarrassed he'd freaked out so easily. Especially now since even he felt strangely courageous after the creature's cry and that it'd healed everyone. "It even fixed my poison ivy," he said, happy about that, glad to be rid of the itching.

"Let's go see where it let's out," said Spyro, leading the way.

Once outside, they saw they were on the other side of the mountain. Cynder quickly took out the map Ignitus had given them and checked. "Hey, look at this," she said, tracking their course by the mountain they'd gone through. They'd cut a long walk off their course.

"Wow! That was some short cut!" said Ember, excited by their progress.

Spyro nodded in agreement. "We cut at least half a day off our journey, good eye spotting that tunnel, Sparx."

Sparx chuckled. "See, I do more than just float by your head!"

Cynder put the map away quickly and smiled. "Let's hurry, I'm feeling even more determined now than ever."

Spyro smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we'll get there in plenty of time!" he said, starting off again.

"Let's just watch out," said Sparx. "I don't want to run into something else that would try to kill us."

The parrot landed in a nearby tree and squawked. "Watch out! Watch out!"

"Or you!" yelled Sparx, annoyed that this stupid bird wouldn't leave them alone.

"I don't like you either!" replied the parrot, flying off with a squawk.

Sparx was about to reply, but thought better of it and just followed the others.

However, no one in the group noticed the jewel of Ember's necklace light up momentarily, the eyes of the firebird staring out before returning to normal…

* * *

Well, looks like the group has an uninvited guest, but is it friend or enemy? And Cynder gets some new powers. Here's why, I was a little ticked that they didn't give each of her elements a unique Fury Attack like Spyro had because they made Fury Breath the only Fury, and that she only had two attacks while Spyro, taking all three games into account, had more techniques for each element. So I decided to remedy that. Tell me what you think! Anyway, see you next time!


	13. Rescue Mission

Hello everyone! Time for another chapter! Today, we have a bunch of action, and more stuff revealed! In fact, there'll be a bit of a shocker this chapter...anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Rescue Mission**

Continuing on from the temple site, Spyro and company soon came across a camp of Naga with a small Gargoyle escort, a bunch of slaves being held captive in a wooden cage nearby. "What have we here?" asked Spyro, peaking over a bush with the others.

"Empress Tyrania will pay good money for these slaves," said the lead Naga, who stood a good head an shoulders over his minions. "Commander Hades told us kidnapping some Cheetahs from that village on the way back from the Dragon Temple would be a great idea! And I must say, he was absolutely right!"

"They must be part of the same group who attacked the temple," said Ember, furious that they'd kidnapped Cheetahs for some reason.

"Those must be some of Hunter's village, that's the only Cheetah tribe I know," said Cynder.

Spyro nodded. "Let's help them out," he said, not willing to let friends get hurt and still having a boost in determination from their encounter with the firebird. He looked around the camp. "Three Naga are standing guard," he said, pointing to three Naga at the edge of the camp.

As the Naga continued talking, the three Dragons split up, each taking one of the guards. Cynder's was easy, as he was in the shadows. She used her Shadow power to dive into it and come up behind him, quickly slashing her tail blade through his throat and killing him. As always, he dissolved into gems and ash. "One down, two more to go," she whispered, retreating into the woods.

Spyro's was a little more difficult, as he wasn't completely out of view of the camp. Spyro backed up in the forest and broke a stick with his paw, causing a loud enough noise that the Naga came over to check. Once he was pretty certain no one could see them, he spat a blast of ice into the Naga's face, sealing his mouth shut so he couldn't alert the rest of the group. The Naga tried to counter attack with his sword, but Spyro dodged, getting the sword caught in a tree. Spyro let loose a bolt of lightning from his mouth, electrocuting the Naga and finishing him off. "Let's hope the others had as good of luck as I did," whispered Spyro, watching the Naga dissolve into ash and gems.

Ember had to deal with the one guarding the slaves, clearly the most important one. She looked to Sparx and motioned for him to distract the guard. Sparx sighed, not wanting to, but knowing he had to. "You owe me," he whispered. Sparx flew over behind the Naga and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around, Sparx flying behind him as he did so. Sparx then repeated the action three more times as Ember snuck closer.

Finally, Sparx allowed himself to be seen. "Hey buddy," he said, pointing behind the Naga.

The Naga blinked and turned around, only for Ember to pounce on him, tackling him to the ground, slashing him twice then breathing a torrent of flames in his face to finish him off. "Good job, Sparx," whispered Ember, smiling.

Spyro and Cynder snuck over to Ember's location. "Alright, now lets get these Cheetahs out of here," whispered Spyro, freezing the lock and breaking it off with his claw, letting the Cheetahs out. "Are you all ok?"

A female Cheetah nodded. "We are unharmed, but more of our clan are being held captive by another camp of Naga around here," she replied, worriedly. She wasn't being completely truthful, they were all rather abused by their captors, but she didn't want to worry them.

"Don't worry, we'll help get them free," said Spyro. "But first, let's take care of this camp."

The Cheetahs quickly armed themselves with whatever was available and on Spyro's mark, charged with the dragons into the camp, attacking the Naga and their Gargoyles, catching them off guard. Realizing the Gargoyles could fly away and get help, Cynder and Ember quickly pounced on them, Cynder using an Air Cutter to target and sever their wings to disable their flight so they couldn't escape. Spyro, on the other hand, pounced on the lead Naga, slashing his face.

"Why if it isn't the great Purple Dragon of Legend," said the Leader Naga. "Bringing your head to queen Deadlock will more than make up for the loss of my slaves."

"You're going to pay for taking these Cheetahs from their home, I promise you that," said Spyro, snarling. No one hurt Spyro's friends and got away with it.

"Oh, that wasn't me, boy, it was Commander Hades' idea," replied the Naga. "Not to say I don't agree with him."

Spyro growled and pounced on the Naga, dodging a sword slash and clawing him repeatedly before being thrown off. Rolling out of the way of an overhead slash, Spyro leapt to his feet and launched a stream of fire at the Naga, only to be blocked by his shield. Keeping up, Spyro continued his fire breath until the shield was red hot. Stopping to catch his breath, Spyro was forced to dodge another slash but responded by breathing a stream of ice into the shield, producing a large amount of steam. Under the cover of it, Spyro formed an Earth Flail and smashed it into the now brittle shield, shattering it to pieces, allowing him to charge forwards and drive his horns into the Naga's gut.

Roaring in pain, the Naga smacked Spyro back with his tail and tried several more slashes with his sword. However, Spyro managed to parry a slash with his horns, allowing him to blast the Naga with a missile of rock from his mouth, blasting him back and letting Spyro finish him off with a Comet Dash to the chest.

Spyro panted, watching the Naga disintegrate into ash and gems, some of which he smashed with his tail to recover his energy. "That was one tough Naga," he admitted, turning to watch Cynder and Ember finish off the Gargoyles, the Cheetahs managing to finish the Naga off. "Is everyone ok?"

The Cheetah all seemed alright, though some were wounded. "You all should stay out of sight, we'll find the other camps and free the captives," said Cynder, not wanting to put them in more danger.

"You're all tired from being in that cage so long," said Ember. "Just hide and rest, we'll come back for you, ok?" she asked, getting nods from the Cheetahs, who'd been treated very poorly by the Naga. That disgusted her. Since that Cheetah brought her back to the Dragon Realms, she'd liked the Cheetahs and seeing them treated badly was hard on her.

Spyro nodded. "Alright, let's get going, we have to find the other Cheetah before the Gargoyles get their claws on them," he said, leading the group on.

* * *

Pyrus panted, having tired himself walking through the woods for awhile. "I'm getting tired…" he said. "Maybe this won't be as easy as I expected…still, I can't quit now, I've come a good way and Cyros is just waiting for me to come running back like a chicken," he said, refusing to let that happen to him. "Still, finding a nice place to rest for the night would be good…" he admitted, continuing forwards, only to hear a twig snap in the forest, making him jump. "What was that?" he asked, twirling around and searching for the source of the noise. "I-is someone there?"

"Well what have we here?" asked a rather gruff voice as a trio of humanoid rats stepped out of the forest, armed with short swords and rather mangy looking in general.

"I think it's a dragon," replied one of them.

"A dragon?" asked another. "There aren't any dragons in the Unknown Realms, he must be pretty lost."

"No, you idiots," replied a third one. "There's one dragon around these parts, Deadlock. And if I'm not mistaken, doesn't she have two kids?" he asked.

Pyrus slowly backed away, trying to avoid being seen. "Kid!" called one of the Rats, causing Pyrus to gulp and stop in his tracks. "You're Deadlock's little prince, aren't you?"

"You can answer, if we like how you reply, we promise we won't hurt you…" continued another of them.

"Much…" whispered another.

Pyrus shuddered. He was scared, but knew they were probably telling the truth, as strong as Deadlock and the Naga were, no one would kill her child…he hoped. "Y-yes…" he stuttered.

"You're right, he was the prince," said the first Rat.

"Told you," replied the one who'd suggested this course of action.

"Hey, Boss Kaze would reward us handsomely if we brought him the prince of the Naga," said the third Rat. "After all, imagine how much Deadlock would pay to get her precious prince back."

Pyrus stiffened at that statement. "Y-you work for Kaze?" he asked, now really scared.

"Yeah," said one of them. "And you're going to make us very rich rodents," he said, approaching and reaching out to grab the young dragon, only to be surprised when Pyrus bit his hand, causing him to cry out in pain. "Why you little…" yelled the rat, clutching his now bleeding hand.

Pyrus had been startled by his own actions. He wasn't violent, but his fear of Kaze, in part thanks to his sister, made him terrified of being taken before the thief king. "I'm not going with you!" he replied, taking a battle stance.

"I don't think the boss would mind if the little prince has a few bruises," said the rat who'd gotten his hand bitten. He then leapt at Pyrus, who, for the first time in his life, turned his fire breath on a living thing, burning the Rat and lighting him on fire. Screaming in pain, the Rat tried to put himself out and Pyrus, unable to handle seeing something suffer so, leapt up and slammed his tail club down on its head, shattering its skull and killing it. Due to not being magically born like the Naga, the Rat's body remained, but still produced gems from his life force.

Pyrus, taken up in his fight or flight response, snarled at the other two Rats. They didn't take the hint and charged, both trying to strike him. While he got a scratch across the chest from one, he slashed the others face and killed it with a stream of fire. The other attempted to slash him as well, but received a crushing hit to the chest from his bone club. Sent reeling back, the Rat was helpless as Pyrus leapt on him and slashed him to death.

Pyrus shook as his adrenaline wore off and he realized what just happened, the blood on his claws. "I…I killed them…" he muttered, shaking in fear. "I…I didn't mean to…I was just…defending myself…" he said, in shock. He'd never drawn blood on anyone before, let alone killed them, thus it was only reasonable he'd be in shock from the act. He looked down at the blood on his claws in disbelief. "W-what did I just do?" he asked, finally fainting from shock. As he laid unconscious on the ground, a shadowy figure approached him, picking the poor child up and taking him into the woods.

* * *

The trio of dragons, and their dragonfly companion, soon reached a clearing in the forest were a large fight had taken place. Spyro looked over the rubble in shock. "What happened here?" he asked. "This isn't the other camp, is it?"

"No," said Cynder, looking over several Naga swords that had been left behind and the rubble of shattered Gargoyles. "This wasn't a camp…I think this was that group we overheard earlier, the one looking for that Drake guy."

Ember shuddered. "What happened to them?" she asked, a little afraid.

"Well I say we get out of here before whatever it was comes back, knowing our luck it will probably try to kill us," said Sparx, looking around in rather jittery fashion.

Spyro nodded, not wanting to run afoul with something that destroyed an entire squad of Naga and Gargoyles. He then noticed Cynder looked a little disturbed as Ember and Sparx started on. "Is something wrong?" he asked his mate, concerned.

"I don't know," replied Cynder. "There's a scent in the air…it smells familiar but I can't put where I've smelled it before…"

Spyro sniffed the air. Cynder was right, there was a familiar scent in the air. He couldn't place who or what it belonged to, but he recognized it. "I can smell it too…strange, but let's continue, we don't want to miss this Commander Hades and fail to rescue his captives."

Cynder looked back and nodded. "Yeah…" she said, letting Spyro head off before looking back at the scene once more. "I know what that scent smells like…" she whispered. "But that's not possible…" she muttered, then slowly moved on.

As they walked on, Cynder tried to shake the feeling she'd gotten from the scent and decided to try talking to Ember. "So Ember…that's a nice necklace you have…" she said, trying to start conversation.

Ember smiled. "Thanks Cynder, that's nice of you," she said, looking down at it. "It's really important to me."

Cynder nodded. "Really? Why?"

Ember smiled. "Well…"

* * *

**Flashback**

Ember, as a child, about 5 years old, chased a butterfly around the forest clearing she lived in with her mother, trying to catch it. She finally pounced on it and looked under her paws, only to find nothing there. "Huh?" she asked, looking around confused, only to chuckle when she found the little butterfly on her head. "How did you get up there?" she asked, giggling as she tried catching it again.

"Ember!" called Fina, Ember's mother.

"Coming momma!" Ember called, looking back to the butterfly. "We'll play later!" she said, running off.

Fina was a well built Fire Dragoness, of thicker build than Cynder's type, but still beautiful by most standards. She shared her daughter's coloration, but had more forwards facing horns, better for attack. She had a similar heart-shaped tail tip as well. She smiled as her daughter ran up to her, reaching down and nuzzling her. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," she said, smiling down at the little dragoness.

"Thanks momma!" called Ember, excitedly. "Will papa be here this time?" she asked, hopeful.

Fina looked sorrowful, clearly not wanting to disappoint her daughter. "No, I'm sorry, Ember. He's still in the war…" she explained, frowning as Ember's face dropped. "But he did send you a gift," she added quickly to cheer the little dragoness up.

"He did?" asked Ember, face lighting up. Having a gift from her father was at least something. "What is it? What is it?"

Fina chuckled. She got a box out that had arrived for them. She pulled out the necklace that Ember wore in the present and put it around her daughter's neck. "It looks wonderful on you, Ember," she said, giving a smile.

Ember looked herself over, running to a puddle and looking at herself. "Wow! I love it! I love it!" she shouted, jumping excitably, even more peppy as a child than she was in modern day.

Fina nuzzled her baby, glad she liked it. "It's beautiful," she stated, smiling. "He sent a letter too," she explained, taking a letter off the top of the box. "It says "To my little Ember. I hope you enjoy your birthday. I'm sorry I can't be there, I really want to but we need every dragon available in order to beat the bad guys. Even if I can't be here, I thought I'd send you something special. I was visiting Warfang to meet with the Guardians and found this in a jewelry store. I couldn't help but think how well it'd fit you. I hope you enjoy it, and I pray the war will end soon so I can see you again. Love dad."," Fina read, smiling.

Ember nuzzled her mother. "I miss him, Momma…" she said, sadly.

Fina nodded, nuzzling her back. "I know, sweetheart…but I'm sure you'll see him again…"

Ember nodded, looking down at her new necklace. "I hope so, momma…"

**Flashback Over**

* * *

Ember looked down at her necklace as she finished telling the story, sorrow on her face. "That was the last time we heard from him…" she explained. "This necklace is the only thing I really have to remember him by…" she continued, before a smile crossed her face. "But now we can rescue him…I'll get to show him I kept it all this time…"

Cynder smiled, happy for Ember. She knew now what it was like to be reunited with your family. "That's right, Ember," she said, trying to be a good friend. "I'm sure of it, we'll save your dad and you'll be with him again. I promise."

Ember smiled back. "Thanks, Cynder, that means a lot…can I ask you something?"

Cynder nodded. "Sure, anything," she replied, trying to be open with Ember.

Ember looked nervous. "Well…when we fought Dark Cynder back on White Isle, I noticed she had the same jewelry as you do…I'm kind of wondering why you still wear it…you don't have to answer but…I'm just curious…" she said, even with her socially awkward mindset, she knew it'd be a sensitive issue.

Cynder looked a little hesitant but nodded. "It's fine…" she replied, understanding the curiosity. "…At first, I wore it to remind me of what I'd done…what Malefor had made me do. And to fight the fear of being possessed by him again," she explained, solemnly. "After we beat Malefor for good…I kept wearing it to make sure I didn't forget…"

"Forget what?" asked Ember, curiosity getting the better of her.

Cynder looked down as they walked, thinking. "Everyone Dark Cynder killed…so I'd never let her control me again," she explained, looking back up at her. "This jewelry is a reminder of what I could become if I lose control…so I know why it's important not to…"

Ember put a paw on Cynder's shoulder lightly. "It's alright…I understand," she said. "I don't blame you for being afraid of turning back into that monster…but I believe in you," she reassured. "I know you can stop yourself from becoming Dark Cynder again, you're strong," she continued, giving a smile.

Cynder smiled back. "Thanks Ember…that means a lot…"

"Cynder! Ember!" called Spyro, interrupting the conversation. The two quickly caught up to him. "There's voices coming from over here, I think we found it," he said, leading the way.

* * *

The group soon came across the real camp of Naga, this one slightly smaller than the last, likely due to the presence of one certain Naga who was…quite frightening to put it mildly. He was larger, about twice the size of a normal member of his race, though nowhere near Grendel's gigantic size. His scales were deep blue in color and his head seemed similar to a cobra, his armor a dark grey color with silver highlights. At his waist were attached a pair of duel bladed axes, hanging from a brown belt with a silver buckle. The most interesting trait, however, were fire tattoos, very much like Cyros sported, that went up his arms and down the length of his back. It was rather clear who this was, Commander Hades.

The massive Naga slithered over to the caged Cheetahs and rattled the bars with his claws. "Enjoying your purgatory, my friends?" he asked, almost sadistically, volcanic ash seeming to snake out of his mouth with each word. "Because consider me the Grim Reaper, guiding you lot to a place that makes those cages look like heaven in comparison," he hissed, laughing as he moved back to the fire. He snatched a large boar off the fire and began to eat. He then looked at the Cheetahs. "This looks so good right now, doesn't it?" he asked, relishing how much the Cheetahs' hunger pained them looking at the meat. "I think I'll eat it nice a slow, so you know for sure what you're missing," he said, taking another bite.

Spyro couldn't take anymore of this. The Cheetahs were their friends, seeing someone tormenting them like this was too much. However, much to his surprise, Ember was the one who charged in and leapt on the nearest Naga, slashing him repeatedly. "Ember?" he asked, shocked.

Hades snapped around at the pink dragoness as she finished off the Naga with a torrent of flames. "Well well, what's this?" he asked, calmly taking another bite of his meal. "That little Fire Dragon from the temple, out this far?" he asked, slithering towards her. "Think you can save these Cheetahs on your own?"

"Maybe she can't," said Spyro, he and Cynder flying over and landing next to Ember. "But I think we could manage it together."

Ember looked up at Spyro ashamed. "Sorry Spyro…it's just the Cheetah that found me and mom was so nice to us…I couldn't stand seeing others of his kind hurting."

"It's ok," replied Spyro, understandingly. "I feel exactly the same."

Cynder nodding. Yes, the Cheetahs and them hadn't gotten off on a good foot the first time, what with the taking them prisoner and all, but since then they'd been very kind. Seeing friends hurting hurt her more than Spyro because every friend she had meant more to her due to her past. She snarled, tail whipping threateningly. "You have until the count of three to let those Cheetahs go," she said, furious.

Hades smirked. "Spyro and Cynder? Perfect!" he said, continuing to eat, not really considering them a threat. "Queen Deadlock's orders about you two were quite clear. Kill you, one before the other, and there's a big reward in it for the one responsible."

"One before the other?" asked Ember, perplexed. "Why would she order that?"

"Simple, she wants us to suffer just like she did," said Cynder, feeling both pity and hatred for the Naga Queen.

"Don't know, don't care," said Hades. "Me and my crew get a prize for bringing you in, that's what matters to me," he said. He then pointed at them with his free hand. "The Naga who brings me their heads gets 20% of the reward!"

The Naga charged forwards, only to be met with a blast of fire from Spyro and Ember, driving several backwards. Cynder dove into her shadow, snaking underneath the mob of Naga and erupting out, slashing through several and then spinning around, coating her tail blade in poison as she cleaved through them. Spyro flew up over them and let loose a cascade of lightning, electrocuting several before Ember followed up with a Comet Dash, taking out a few more. The group continued fighting and quickly took out the group of Naga.

"You're all alone, Hades," said Cynder, panting lightly. "This group and your other one are all gone. You're finished."

Hades had finally finished his boar and dropped the remains to the ground with a chuckle. "Thanks for that," he said, wiping his mouth off.

Sparx scratched his head. "Is he _thanking _you for taking out his buddies?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"It's simple, really," said the Naga Commander, drawing his axes. "The payment for these slaves split with my whole crew is a lot less than me getting it all," he said, not caring for his men one bit. "And the reward for killing you three, it'll be all mine."

"That's terrible!" shouted Ember, disgusted. "You…you…nasty snake…thingy!"

"She's right," said Cynder, equally horrified by this sadistic creature before them. "What kind of commander doesn't care about his own troops?"

"You're one to judge," stated Hades, smirking. "Deadlock told us all about you," he said. "The mighty Cynder, Terror of the Skies. You threw quite a few Apes off that tower of yours for petty little things, didn't you?"

Cynder lowered her head, sorrow creeping in as she remembered doing that. He was right, she'd been anything but a good boss to the Apes. "That wasn't me…" she said, regaining her composure. "That was the monster Malefor turned me into," she continued. "And I know you Naga have no love for him."

"For once, we agree," said Hades. "But that doesn't change the fact you're in no position to judge my treatment of my troops," he said with a sadistic smirk.

Ember nudged Cynder. "Don't listen, he's just trying to get in your head," she said. "He's just a bully, and my mom told me never listen to bullies," she continued, showing her childish personality.

"Ember's right, don't listen to anything this lying snake says," said Spyro, enraged at Hades for what he was doing. "Let's take him down."

Cynder nodded, smiling. "Thanks…" she said, glad to have her friends. She then took a battle pose alone with them.

Hades charged and slashed at the group with his axes, being faster than he looked. The trio still managed to dodge and counter attack, Spyro and Cynder slashing his chest and Ember letting loose a blast of fire. The Naga Commander charged through and tackled them with his shoulder, knocking all three back before bringing up his tail and trying to crush them under it. Cynder used a burst of her wind breath to hold his tail back, allowing all three to escape its path. Spyro followed up and blasted Hades back with his ice breath, freezing his arm solid.

Hades chuckled. "Think this will slow me down?" he asked, looking at his frozen arm. "Here's something you didn't know, my tattoos aren't just for show," he said, his fire tattoos lighting up. The ice on his arm slowly melted before he broke his arm free, fire streaming from his hands.

The trio of dragons gasped in shock. "He can use fire?" asked Ember.

"How's that possible?" asked Cynder in shock.

"Enchanted tattoos," said Hades, smiling as they lit back up and he lit his axes on fire.

"Great, first he's swinging axes at us, now his axes are on fire!" shouted Sparx in disbelief.

Hades swung his axes, sending waves of fire at the trio, striking them and forcing them back. The Naga General charged and continued slashing, but the dragons dodged. However, the heat of the fire engulfing his weapons made it difficult to avoid harm completely. Trying to stop the onslaught, Spyro used his ice, managing to temporally put out his axes. Seeing the opening, Ember and Cynder flew in and attacked, Ember with a Comet Dash to the chest and Cynder with a poison coated slash of her tail. As Hades reeled from those blows, Spyro swung an Earth Flail around and bashed the Naga Commander back with a blow to the chest.

Hades snarled and finally managed to reignite his axes, swinging them madly again. As the dragons dodged, he let loose a stream of fire from his mouth, taking Ember off guard and blasting her back with a direct hit. "What's a matter? I didn't think Fire Dragons minded the heat," mocked Hades.

Cynder, enraged at him mocking her friend, flew forwards. Hades let loose another stream of fire at her, only for her to form a Wind Sphere to suck it in, launching it right back at him. The resulting impact set off a fiery explosion, which Cynder used as cover to blast the fire out on one of his axes with her wind breath while Spyro flew forwards and extinguished the other with his ice. Ember, still hurt but not out of action, sent a blast of fire into the Naga's face, blinding him further and allowing Spyro and Cynder to close in and slash away at the hateful beast. "And here I thought a fire based Naga wouldn't mind the heat," spat back Ember, taking pleasure in using the Naga's own insult against him.

Hades roared, infuriated as his tattoos glowed brighter, lighting not only his axes back on fire but the tattoos themselves turning into towering flames. Hades charged, trying to burn or hurt them in anyway possible. "He's too hot to get close!" complained Spyro, being forced back by the intense heat of the Naga Commander.

Cynder nodded, dodging a slash from him and getting scolded by the heat. She then remembered something from before. "Ember! Remember what you said about one fire choking out another?"

Ember nodded, getting the message. Cynder distracted the raging Naga with a Wind Cutter to his back, cutting into his skin. As he spun around to attempt to blast her with his fire breath, Spyro and Ember flew around him, letting loose fire into the ground to create a flaming ring. "What are you doing?" he yelled before trying to blast them with his flame breath. Cynder flew above him, spinning and generating a cyclone with her wind element, the fire being caught up in it and turning it into a flaming twister. The heat and suction soon removed all the air from around the Naga Commander, putting out his flames and choking him.

Cynder stopped the windstorm and flew back, firing a Wind Cutter and managing to cut his axes in half. She then joined Ember and Spyro, letting loose a blast of poison as Spyro used electricity and Ember used fire. The triple attack struck him in the chest, blasting Hades backwards and into a tent. "It's over Hades!" yelled Spyro. "You've lost."

Hades snarled, getting up, finding himself disarmed and outnumbered. He then looked up and smirked, a flock of Gargoyles descending from the sky. "I don't think so," he said, smirking, before a group of red shapes leapt out of the jungle and tackled the Gargoyles to the ground, smashing them with hammers or other blunt weapons. "What?"

Cynder was shocked when she realized what these creatures were. "It can't be! They're Apes?" she shouted, startled to see Malefor's foot soldiers fighting the Gargoyles, but there was no mistaking it. The muscular, furry, bright faced creatures were defiantly apes. They had the red fur color of the Apes at Tall Plains, likely due to the hot climate

"But I thought Malefor got rid of all the Apes, how can there be any left?" asked Ember, shocked. Even more shocked that the Apes were _helping_ them.

Hades attempted to escape in the confusion but backed into a towering figure. An Ape, about Gaul's size and mass, stood over the Naga Commander. He was much kinder looking though, and had less scaring as well as both eyes, so it was clear this wasn't the same Ape. He wore armor that looked thrown together from bits and pieces, as did the other Apes, like they'd used whatever metals they could find or steal to get it. This huge one, however, had distinctive silver colored armor, while his allies had bronze color, evidently indicating rank.

"Drake…" muttered Hades, backpedaling in true fear.

"That's Drake?" asked Spyro, shocked.

"Well I think its official, he's not going to be on our side," said Sparx, none of them really having a high opinion of Apes after the war.

Hades attempted a punch on the massive ape, but his fist was caught. Drake pulled a large sword from his back, which seemed to be rather mismatched in composition, as if like the armor it'd been forged from whatever they could find. Drake blocked another punch and plunged his sword through the hateful Naga's chest. Hades gasped in pain and shock, before going limp and dying. Drake pulled out his sword as Hades started to dissolve into ashes, Drake moving on. Drake approached the trio of dragons, who reasonably got defensive.

"Dragons?" asked Drake, his voice a lot kinder than one would expect. "The Purple Dragon survived? I don't believe it…" he said, shocked. He then noticed their defensive stances. He took out his swords and, to their suprise planted them firmly in the ground as a sign of peace, causing the three to slowly leave their defensive posture. "Can't blame you for getting defensive, if our roles were reversed, I'd probably be acting the same…"

As the trio could only stare at the Apes, including the gigantic Drake, Ember caught sight of something green and brown behind Drake. "What's that?" she asked, getting distracted.

"It's alright, Demetria," said Drake. "They're Dragons," he explained, reassuringly. "You can come out, I don't think they'd hurt one of their own."

"One of our own?" asked Cynder, now even more confused. She had no idea what to make of this situation at all. The situation got even more confusing when Demetria stepped out from behind Drake and revealed herself. Demetria was an Earth Dragoness their age with light forest green scales, forwards pointing, earthy brown horns and back spikes. Her belly was a slightly lighter brown, along with her wing membranes, and her eyes were a vibrant green. They'd found the Dragon that Ignitus had informed them about…but not in the way they'd ever expected.

Demetria nervously looked at the Dragons, who were now staring wide-eyed at her in response. "Uh…h-hi…p-please c-call me D-D-Demi," she stuttered, extremely shyly. "If its not too much trouble," she finished softly. Spyro's group could only stare, too shocked to comment on the situation.

"Well…didn't see that coming…" said Sparx, breaking the awkward silence…

* * *

Hmm, good Apes? And the Earth Dragon is with them? I wonder how this will end up...And is Pyrus with a friend or foe? Poor guy, first fight he's ever had in his life, hard to blame him?


	14. New Allies

Hey guys, time for the next chapter! Now we find out the backstory of Drake and his clan. Sorry for the delay! Here we go, enjoy!

* * *

**New Allies**

Spyro and Cynder were seated around a campfire, Drake and Demi set across from them as the Apes tended to the wounds of Cheetahs from both groups. "So the war ended at last?" asked Drake, being surprisingly hospitable for an Ape. "I'm glad the Dragons won."

Spyro was surprised. "You are?" he asked. "No offense, but…" he continued, unsure of how to say it without insulting him.

"You're an Ape," said Cynder, clearly holding bitterness from what the Apes had done to her. "No Ape we ever met were enemies of the Dark Master."

Drake sighed. "Believe me, I know it's a shock any of us were good."

"You think?" asked Sparx. "What tipped you off? The stunned silence after you showed up?"

Drake ignored that, concentrating on the moment at hand. "I know the Apes were in the wrong…you aren't too far off to see the ones you fought as monsters, they were…" he said. "I was…"

"You aren't anymore, daddy…" said Demi, quietly. She was clearly a shy little Dragoness, though it wasn't her upbringing, it was just personality.

"Drake," said Spyro. "If you don't mind telling us, how did you end up out here?" he asked, confused and not sure of what exactly happened. "We're here on a mission to stop the Gargoyles, but why are you out here?"

"And how come Demi is here with you?" asked Ember, being rather blunt due to her naivety when it came to social skills.

"Ember!" said Cynder, shocked. "She might not know she's…you know…" she said, trying to inch around saying it bluntly. Demi called Drake her father, but did she realize she was adopted? If Spyro thought he was a Dragonfly, why couldn't Demi think she's an Ape?

Ember realized what she'd said and looked guilty. "Oops…sorry…I didn't think about that…" she muttered, feeling rotten for not thinking about that.

"Don't worry, Demi knows she's adopted," replied Drake, knowing what Cynder was saying. "I didn't want her thinking she was an Ape at all so I told her when she was old enough to understand. I wanted her to be proud to be a Dragon because there's no way she could ever be proud to be an Ape, not after all the awful things we did to the Dragons," he explained, smiling down at Demi, who was still watching timidly. "As for how we ended up here and why Demi's my adopted daughter…that started 24 years ago," he began. "When Gaul ordered the raid, we knew what we were doing was wrong, but the promise of power from the Dark Master was too great to ignore, so we did it anyway," he said, then looked remorseful, knowing he'd done a horrible thing. "I'm sure by now you know what an awful thing war is, all the fighting and death," he continued. "I was just a young soldier at the time, didn't really understand what I was in for…"

"I don't think anyone knows what going into war will be like at first," said Spyro, remembering fighting Malefor's forces as a child.

"At least you fought for what was right," replied Drake. "That night I found out just how wrong we were…as the attack progressed, we made it into the egg chamber and did as ordered…but then it happened," he said, looking deeply disturbed. "I only smashed one egg that night, just one…that was one too many. That was the worst moment of my life. I guess I just had more of a conscience than the average Ape because the moment I looked down on what I did, I felt sick to my stomach," he continued, Demi nuzzling his arm to comfort him. "Looking down on that poor little dragon I'd killed in its shell, I realized that I'd just taken away a life before it could ever draw its first breath…" he explained, looking extremely guilty. "If you don't forgive me for that, then I wouldn't blame you…I murdered a child who had never gotten to see the world. I can't think of anything a person could do that can be worse than that."

Ember had more trouble listening than Spyro and Cynder, due to never having seen war firsthand, but looked up at Drake slowly. "But you're better than those other Apes, Drake," she said, trying to put her own opinion out there. "You did a nasty thing, but you feel nasty for doing it," she said, trying to explain the best she could what she was thinking. "You're different than those mean Apes because you have a heart," she continued, giving a smile. She raised her heart-shaped tail tip and showed her heart necklace. "And believe me, I know hearts."

Cynder, despite her bitterness towards Apes, couldn't help but smile. "Ember's right…" she said, Ember was a lot smarter than she seemed sometimes. "If you feel remorse…that means you're better than most of the other Apes we've ever met," she continued, Spyro nodding along with them.

Drake smiled lightly and gave a sigh. "Thanks…coming from Dragons, that means a lot…" he replied, meaning it. "Anyway, at the moment, I realized no matter what the Dark Master had promised us, it wasn't worth what he wanted us to do for him. So I did the only thing I could; grab the nearest egg and run for it. I'd have grabbed more than one, but it was hard enough fighting my way out carrying one egg, let alone more. Helped there was one angry Dragoness tearing her way through the Apes in the egg chamber to guard them that took a lot of the attention off me. Fire Dragon I think," he continued, remembering that vividly.

Cynder couldn't help but smile. "I think that might have been my mom," she said, remembering what Ignitus had said.

Drake looked Cynder over and chuckled. "Come to think about it, she did look a lot like you," he admitted, finding that ironic. "Deadlock herself was going on quite the warpath," he said, knowing of Deadlock. "When I heard she killed the Naga Queen and took over, I wasn't surprised one bit."

"She killed the Naga Queen?" asked Cynder, surprised, having not known that.

Drake nodded. "That's how someone not from the leader's bloodline can take over the Naga. A pitched battle between the two. Their rules never specified only a Naga could give the challenge, so Deadlock was able to make it and win."

Ember nodded. "That does explain a lot though."

Spyro gave a nod in reply. "Yeah, I was wondering how a dragon became their leader."

"From what I hear, she's actually an excellent leader," said Drake, recounting what he'd heard. "I guess three minds gives her the knowledge to run things well," he continued, then noticed he'd gotten off topic. "Well, back to the story, some other Apes felt the same as I did and joined me in running. Together, we got out of there and ran, knowing if we didn't, Gaul would have our heads."

"I can understand the feeling," said Spyro, remembering his fight with Gaul and what had been done to Cynder. Even though he'd fought Cynder, Gaul was still a frightening creature, he couldn't blame Drake for fearing him. Gaul was probably worse because he _chose_ to do it, unlike Cynder who'd been brainwashed.

Drake nodded. "As we ran, I did some thinking. I realized that I'd been willing to murder innocent Dragons and for what? Power? Honor? It didn't matter, it was the wrong thing to fight for and I was ashamed of myself," he explained, looking down at the memory. Nothing was worse than realizing you were the bad guy. "We made it out here to the Unknown Lands and settled down, far away from the war and the Dark Master. We knew we'd be killed on sight by either side and could never go back, so we remained out here and did our best to move on with our lives," he said, then put a hand on Demi's back. "Then Demi hatched…I promised from that day on I'd protect her with my life and raise her as my own daughter…and that's what I did."

Demi smiled up at Drake. "Thanks, daddy…" she said, clearly adoring her father no matter what he'd done in the past.

Drake nodded. "You're welcome, Demi," he replied with a small smile. He then looked back to Spyro and company. "During that time, we found out what the Gargoyles were doing," he explained. "And we decided we should take the opportunity to redeem ourselves by thwarting them whenever we could. Unfortunately, we can't make much headway, since for every Gargoyle we kill, Empress Tyrania just makes more."

Spyro nodded. "…Well we're actually here to take her down ourselves," he explained. "The Chronicler told us that destroying Tyrania would take all of her Gargoyles with her."

Drake looked uncertain. "You really think you can do it?" he asked. "We'd be glad to help overthrow that demon and free her territory, but it's risky."

"We can do it," said Ember, happily. "Spyro and Cynder beat the Dark Master all by themselves," she said, showing her hero worship of them.

"You beat the Dark Master?" asked Drake, shocked. As an Ape, he knew exactly what Malefor was capable of. He'd not been aware the Dragons he'd been talking to had defeated him.

Cynder nodded. "Malefor was freed on the Night of Eternal Darkness, three years later we fought him. After a long fight, we ended up at the core of the world…

* * *

**Flashback**

Spyro and Cynder plunged deeper, following Malefor as he descended. Finally, the trio of dragons hovered in the fiery chamber, the planet's purple crystal core in the center. The two heroes were both hurt and tired, but Malefor wasn't finished yet.

The Dark Master, enraged that he seemed incapable of destroying these two insects before him, hovered across from them, flapping his massive wings to keep himself aloft. "You cannot defeat me! I am eternal!" bellowed Malefor before trusting his head forwards, letting loose a powerful torrent of Convexity in one last attempt to obliterate the last hope the world had left.

Seeing this, Spyro and Cynder countered in kind, sending twin streams of Convexity to meet Malefor's. The beams met in the middle, fighting over dominance, but even fighting together, Malefor's power was enormous and they seemed to be losing.

Spyro refused to let them be defeated. "Just…hang…on!" he called to Cynder, reassuring her that he wouldn't give up so long as she didn't. Cynder agreed, both putting everything they had left into their attack.

Slowly, the heroic dragon's beams began to tear through Malefor's, forcing the Dark Master's assault back. Malefor's eyes widened as finally, Spyro and Cynder's beams proved the stronger and tore through his own. Taking the full force of their attack, Malefor was sent crashing hard to the crystal core below, his body being sent grinding across the surface of the crystal. Wounded, but not finished, Malefor rose to his feet, slowly approaching the two.

Spyro and Cynder, for a brief moment, nearly felt hopeless. They'd hit Malefor with everything they had, and it still wasn't enough. It wasn't that they felt they'd be incapable of beating him, it was they didn't have time. If Malefor was defeated before the world ended, they might have a chance of stopping it somehow, but it was taking far too long…that was until something amazing happened.

Around Malefor, purple energy forms of five dragons emerged from the core, taking flight and glaring down at Malefor. "What is this?" bellowed Malefor, watching in confusion, taken off guard completely. Without a word, the spectral dragons descended on the sinister Purple Dragon, grabbing hold of him and pulling him down. The crystal he'd been standing on began to glow brightly, his body being sucked into it. Realizing what was happening, Malefor tried to hold himself up with his front paws, but even he was no match for the strength of the spirits of his elders. "NOOOOO!" he bellowed as his grip was lost and he was pulled completely into his tomb, his leg reaching out desperately before being pulled in.

Spyro and Cynder could only watch in awe as this transpired, their magic tether vanishing into thin air with Malefor's demise.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

"And just like that, he was gone," said Cynder, finishing the story. "We probably could've defeated him if we had enough time, but we just didn't. Thank the Ancestors they came to help us."

"Still, it wasn't easy, and we're a little rusty after years of peace," said Spyro. "But with your help, I'm pretty sure we can defeat Tyrania."

Drake was surprised. "I know you told me the war was over, but I had no idea you two fought the Dark Master and won," he said, still trying to process it. "I mean, I knew something happened when the world started breaking up but was reversed, but I didn't think two dragons had done it alone."

"Spyro did that last part," said Ember. "He pulled the world back together all by himself!" she said, giving him a flirtatious look and getting way too close.

"Yeah…" said Spyro, scooting away from Ember slightly. "But that was all I did by myself…and Cynder saved me from the core afterwards instead of saving herself like I'd asked her to."

Cynder had shot Ember a glare when she started flirting again, but the pink dragoness didn't see it. She then smiled when Spyro mentioned that. "Well I couldn't just leave you behind," she said, even now she wouldn't. "You did the same for me in Convexity, and I did promise Sparx I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

Sparx smiled. "Yeah…seriously, thanks for keeping that promise, Cynder."

"And we had more help; from our friends and Ignitus the Fire Guardian helped us reach him…at the cost of his own life…" Spyro said, even if he knew Ignitus had come back to life, the memory of that moment still haunted him. "He's the new Chronicler now, but that doesn't make it any easier on us, you know?"

Drake nodded. "I can understand that, the death of someone you care about is never an easy thing to remember, no matter what the circumstances…" he said, having lost some good friends in the raid and likely the war. "…Alright, we'll help. It's time those Gargoyles got what they deserved."

Demi looked at the other dragons, getting more comfortable with them. "I don't know a lot but…I'll help however I can. Daddy couldn't teach me much about my Earth powers since he's not a dragon."

"Well Spyro's the Purple Dragon, maybe he can teach you," said Ember. "Right Spyro?" she asked, using the flirting tone again and getting close to him.

Spyro backed up slightly. "Uh…yeah! I know Earth elemental attacks, I'm sure I could help teach her," he said, Ember making him uncomfortable.

Cynder subdued her anger yet again, having an increasingly difficult time doing so. Had Ember gotten a bit more forwards since they'd gotten out of the Dragon Realms? "Spyro learned Earth from Terrador the Earth Guardian, so I'm sure he could teach Demi a thing or two," she stated, trying to distract Ember from her flirting.

"What do you say, Demi?" asked Drake, looking down at his adopted daughter. "You know I'd never make you do something you didn't want to."

Demi looked shyly at the other dragons, then nodded lightly. "Sure, I'd be glad to…" she said, smiling slightly. She never had the chance to learn about her Earth power, which she was happy to take.

Drake nodded. "Alright, you should start immediately, since we'll need to be ready to move when the time is right."

Spyro got up. "Alight, follow me and I'll teach you, Demi," he said, leading to a nearby clearing along with Sparx, Demi following shyly behind, looking back and receiving an encouraging nod from Drake.

Drake turned his attention back to Cynder and Ember. "I know Spyro is the Purple Dragon of prophecy, but what about you two?" he asked. "I've never seen a Black Dragon before."

"I'm the first," replied Cynder. "As for my past…I've got a bit more of grudge on Malefor and the Apes than the average Dragon…" she began, not wanting to insult him. "On the night of the raid, Gaul made off with one egg, mine…" she said, memory going back to all those years ago. "Not long after I hatched in the Ape's lair, they began my "training". I don't' remember much, except for the pain…" she said, looking sad. "They tortured me to make me train my body, because that's all they needed from me. They tried their hardest to break my spirit…they came close," she continued, venom clear in her voice. "Then…this is the worse part I remember…one of the worst anyway," she explained, raising her tail blade and showing those on her wings. "These used to be bone…Gaul tore those ones out of me and forged metal into my bones in their place…they made sure I was conscious through the whole thing…if I lost consciousness, they woke me up and continued…by the time it was over, I was in shock…that gave them the chance to do something even worse…"

Ember watched Cynder's body shake from fear, clearly traumatized from what happened all those years ago. Ember couldn't blame her after what had been done to the poor Black Dragoness. "Cynder…you don't have to go farther…" she said, worried for her friend. It made her wing claws and tail hurt just imagining it.

Cynder shook her head. "No…" she said, not wanting to succumb to her past, she'd been fighting that battle for her entire life. "I have to finish…they drug me to the Well of Souls, chained me above it," she continued, trying not to let herself fall too deep into her own memory. "…Then they took the only thing I had left from me…my freewill…" she continued, finding tears in her eyes as she remembered. "Malefor's darkness turned me into a monster…Dark Cynder is what we call it now…I…she did so many horrible things…" she explained. "Drake…I know exactly how it feels to think something you did is unforgivable…That's why I wear this jewelry I do…to remind me of what happened so I can fight the darkness still inside me…I know it wasn't my fault…but I still remember," she continued, letting a few tears fall so her emotions didn't overwhelm her. "I'll _always_ remember what I was forced to do."

Ember put her paw on Cynder's shoulder, trying to consol her. "Cynder…are you ok?" she asked, feeling Cynder's heart racing as the Black Dragon shook heavily from her painful memories. Ember couldn't blame her, after what she'd been put through, who could blame her for being traumatized?

Cynder looked over to Ember. "Yeah…yeah, I'll be fine," she said, shaking her head to clear it as she calmed down.

Drake came over and put a large hand on Cynder's shoulder. "I know I wasn't involved in what happened to you…but my race was," he said. "I'm sorry for all that was done to you…my race will never apologize for what they did to you…but if they won't, I have must."

Cynder was shocked, looking up at the massive Ape. But she slowly smiled. "It's ok, Drake…you didn't do anything wrong…but I know what its like to feel like you have to apologize for something that wasn't your fault…" she said, having felt like that since Spyro freed her. "Anyway, Spyro broke Malefor's spell and freed me. I got most of my powers from Malefor's darkness. I must admit, using those same powers to defeat him felt good."

Drake nodded, returning to his seat. "I can understand that," he replied, then looked to Ember, knowing Cynder's past was painful to speak about and he shouldn't dig deeper. "What's your story?"

"Well, not much," said Ember, embarrassed. Compared to Spyro and Cynder, she really didn't have an exciting back-story, at least in her opinion. "My dad sent me and my mom out to live in the wilderness to escape the war and a Cheetah found us not too long ago," she explained. "My dad got kidnapped by the Gargoyles, we're going to help save him and their other slaves."

Drake nodded, understanding. "Well I'll help," he said. "After what the Apes did to the Dragons, helping reunite one with their family is the least I can do."

Cynder smiled. "I can understand that…and I'm sure we can put in a good word for you and your group with the others, Ember here's the new Fire Guardian," she explained, looking to Ember, reminding her she was special too.

Drake's jaw dropped. "You're the new Fire Guardian?" he asked, having had no idea this little Pink Dragoness was a Guardian. "I'm sorry, if I'd known I'd have given you more respect," he said, knowing the Guardians were, like Spyro, worthy of respect, even if she was only 24 years old.

"It's fine," said Ember, getting a little hot under the scales from the attention. "I'm just doing what's expected of me. I'm pretty strong though."

"Don't sell yourself short," said Drake. "Being a Guardian, from what I know of the Dragons, is a high honor, you deserve to be proud."

"He's right, Ember," said Cynder, giving her friend a smirk. "You've worked hard, I can tell. You've got every right to be proud."

Ember smiled lightly. "Thanks Cynder…" she said, looking down at her claws and thinking about how hard she'd trained to reach this level. "Speaking of training, I hope Demi's is going well."

* * *

"Alright, show me what you can do," said Spyro, setting up a dummy for Demi to practice on, then got out of her way.

Demi nodded, gulping and taking a battle stance. She let loose a shotgun-like blast of green energy and rock, but was ill prepared for the recoil and got knocked flat on her back. "Ow…" she muttered, getting up and shaking it off. She then tried again, only to get the same result. "Sorry…I'm terrible at this," she said, clearly lacking self-esteem.

"Well I wouldn't say terrible more like-" started Sparx.

"No, you're not," said Spyro, interrupting his brother by covering his mouth before he said something that shouldn't be said. He went over and helped her up. "Your stance is the problem," he said, getting in position next to her. "Plant all your weight in your legs, that Earth Shot has a lot of recoil to it," he explained, showing proper position.

"Ok…" said Demi, unsure as she mimicked Spyro's stance. She let off another Earth Shot, her aim being off due to the recoil and missing by a large amount. Her expression dropped as she still saw it as a bad mess up.

"Hey, don't feel bad, you did better that time," said Spyro, trying to encourage her.

"Yeah," said Sparx. "At least you didn't get knocked flat on your butt again."

Spyro put one paw on her neck and the other on her chin, readjusting her head and neck. "Brace your neck for the recoil, be ready for it," he said. "No one gets it their first try, even me," he said, giving her an encouraging smile. "Try again."

Demi looked nervous, but concentrated on the dummy. She let loose another Earth Shot, this time grazing the dummy. She tried several more times, getting closer each time until finally, she hit it head on and blew it apart, her face turning to shock. "I…I actually did it…" she muttered, in disbelief.

Spyro smiled. "Way to go Demi!" he said, patting her on the back. "See, practice makes perfect."

Demi nodded, smiling shyly. Yeah, her dad praised her a lot, but having someone else praise her made her kind of nervous. "Alright, what's next?"

"Let's try again," said Spyro, putting up another dummy. "Just to make sure you've got it down," he said, the young dragoness managing to hit it right off the bat, blowing it to bits. "You got it!" he praised. "And that's actually a pretty powerful Earth Shot. You've got the makings of a strong Earth Dragoness."

Demi got hot under the scales. "R-really?"

Spyro nodded, smiling reassuringly. "Yeah, you really do," he said, setting up another dummy. "Now we need to try it while flying."

Demi looked shocked. "F-flying?" she asked, having a hard time believing that was even possible. "I barely managed a _normal_ Earth Shot!"

Spyro nodded. "Don't worry, I'm here to teach you," she said, giving her a reassuring look.

"You sure this is a good idea?" asked Sparx with a sigh.

"Yeah, she's a quick study," said Spyro.

"Really?" asked Sparx. "You think so?"

Spyro nodded. "If she works hard, she might get all the basics down today," he replied, before Demi tried a flying Earth Shot, the recoil launching her backwards and getting her head stuck in a hole in a tree.

Demi squirmed, trying to get free herself before finally giving up. "A little help…please?" she asked, embarrassed.

"You were saying?" asked Sparx, smirking widely.

"She just needs some training!" said Spyro, rather defensively, before running to help Demi get unstuck.

* * *

Pyrus groaned, blinking awake and finding himself alone in a shack in the woods. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he asked, scared.

"Hello there," said a female voice behind him.

Pyrus spun around and saw a large, female fox hanging from a board above him, her face right in front of his. "Hi!" she called, rather loudly.

Pyrus fell backwards with a cry of shock. The fox had beautiful white fur and blue eyes, looking quite majestic overall, which left Pyrus somewhat awestruck. "What are you?" he asked, heart racing.

The vixen giggled and five, long, beautiful tails spread out behind her. "I'm a Kitsune," she explained, flipping down and looking at Pyrus. "My name is Delilah. Glad to meet you! You're Pyrus, right?" she asked, speaking at mach four.

Pyrus looked confused, the fact she was talking at high-speed didn't help. "How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things," said Delilah, spreading her tails. "As Kitsune get older, they get new powers and more tails. I've only got five, so I don't know everything, but I know a lot about stuff," she said, speaking fast.

Pyrus looked amazed, but also confused. "Wow…wait, why are we in a shack in the forest?"

Delilah gave a friendly smirk. "Kitsune aren't like you dragons. We're free spirits who can't stand to be in one location too long. We have place to live, we just go wherever the wind takes us…So are you feeling better now?" she said, not liking to dwell on something she considered boring.

Pyrus nodded, after overcoming the confusion he had from her rapid speech. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"I found you out cold in the woods," explained the queen of the Kitsune. "So I brought you here."

Pyrus looked sad. "I passed out…I killed those Rats…I've…I've never killed anyone before," he said, looking disturbed. "Heck, I've never hurt anyone before…"

Delilah put her paw on his shoulder. "Do not worry," she said, getting just a bit more serious. "You didn't want to kill them, did you? You were just protecting yourself, right?"

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah…they threatened to take me to Kaze and I protected myself…oh, Kaze is a-"

"Thief boss, I know," said Delilah, in a friendly fashion as she tapped her head, reminding him of her intelligence. "Well they tried to hurt you, you protected yourself. That's all there is to it."

Pyrus shook his head. "But…I don't like it, it feels so wrong…"

Delilah nodded. "That's a good thing," she replied. "Killing isn't supposed to feel good," she said. "If you kill for fun then you're are evil and heartless," she continued. "In the Unknown Lands, sometimes you have to kill to survive, since there are a lot of people who would kill you if you don't fight back and protect yourself," she explained, maintaining a calm tone so he could understand. It was a rather sensitive topic so she needed to make sure he understood. "But so long as you don't kill people for joy and only fight in self-defense, you've done nothing wrong."

Pyrus felt comforted somewhat, but wasn't completely at ease. "…Will Kaze's gang come after me again?"

Delilah nodded solemnly. "Yeah. You're Prince of the Naga, you're extremely valuable and they'll stop at nothing to capture you," she explained, surprisingly bluntly. "…I'll help you," she continued. "While I'm not a fighter myself, I can give you some help if you need it."

"But won't that put you in danger as well?" asked Pyrus, concerned for his new friend.

"I'm a spirit," said Delilah, smiling. "I can get hurt, but I am not in any real danger," she explained. "And I can do a lot of things to help you out."

Pyrus nodded, glad that was the case. "Alright, but I'm going to protect you if I can. I don't want to let a friend get hurt if I can help it."

Delilah nodded. "Alright, Pyrus, where you heading?"

"The Gargoyles territory to meet up with a pair of dragons to help stop my mother," said Pyrus, looking troubled. "Deadlock is doing something really bad," he explained. "I have to stop her…even if I don't want to."

Delilah nodded. "I understand. If someone's doing something wrong, stopping them is the only option," she said, then smiled, back to her fast manner of speech. "Lead the way!" Pyrus nodded and headed out, Delilah trotting along after him.

* * *

Spyro and Sparx watched as Demi finished flattening a large number of dummies with an Earth Fury, dropping huge exploding boulders on top of them. "You did great Demi!" said Spyro, running over to her.

Demi got hot under the scales, flattered. "You really think so?" she asked, panting from using a Fury Attack.

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, you're a fast learner!"

Demi smiled. "Thanks…I'm tired…" she said, not wanting to bother him or make herself sound selfish or lazy.

"I think that's enough training for today," said Spyro, having taught her the basic moves. "You did great, you deserve a good rest," he said, putting a paw on her shoulder. "You've got a lot to learn, but you can do it."

Demi looked down shyly. "You really think so?" she asked, her lack of self-esteem showing.

Spyro nodded. "And I'm sure you'll learn to do a lot better, you learn fast," he continued, giving her a kind smile. "Now let's get you back to the camp so you can get some rest," he continued, leading her towards Drake's camp.

"Spyro…thanks," said Demi, avoiding eye contact due to her shyness. "I'm not very open a person…you helped me and it helps me a lot."

Spyro smiled back at the young Earth Dragoness. "You're welcome," he said. "…You're kind of shy, aren't you?"

Demi nodded, embarrassed of her shyness. "It's just…being around an entire tribe of people three times your size is a little…intimidating…I know they won't hurt me…" she said, trying to word it right. "It's just…I don't feel like I fit in…so I kept to myself and my dad most of the time…"

"I kind of know how you feel…" said Spyro. "Well, kind of the reverse, actually…I was raised by Dragonflies…I was born bigger than everyone else, even my adopted parents. I never felt like I fit in at first…but I saw they cared about me…I decided that's all that mattered, no matter how I looked or how big I was."

Demi gave it some thought and nodded. "I understand…I'll try…thanks Spyro…"

Spyro smiled back. "You're welcome, now let's head back to camp, come on," he said, leading the way.

Cyros watched from the woods nearby as the ground left and seemed touched…almost. "I can't remember the last time anyone helped me with anything…except you, Kage," she muttered, the Naga standing by her side.

"As Spyro said, it's what a friend would do," said Kage, standing still beside her.

Cyros shook off her momentary moment of sentiment. "And that's why you're the only one I can trust…" she said, giving a bitter look as she thought of her mother and brother, trying not to let herself become to attached and trusting of Kage. "Anyway, I think that little group is having things a little too easy," she said, smirking sadistically. "Time to have a little fun with them," she said, giving a dark laugh.

"Why, my lady?" asked Kage. "After all, they are a part of your plan regardless."

"It's fun to mess with people," replied Cyros, coldly. "And what I have in mind will give them a tad more…incentive to fight their way to Tyrania."

Kage sighed, following slowly, not sure where this would lead.

* * *

Yeah, that was pretty brutal on poor Cynder, but can't help it, her past was terrible after all. Well Pyrus has an...intresting new partner, doesn't he? And what is Cyros up to? Nothing good, that's for sure. Anyway, see you next time!


	15. Deception

Hello everyone! A LOT happens this chapter, I hope you enjoy it! I took some tips from one of my reviewers and tried to improve my style a little with it. Please tell me what you think! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Deception**

"Hey guys," said Spyro, smiling as he came with Demi back to camp.

Cynder smiled. "Hey Spyro, how'd it go?" she asked, hoping everything went ok.

"Good, Demi is a fast learner," said Spyro, a proud smile on his face. It was no surprise really, after being a student all his life, being a teacher for the first time was bond to feel good.

Drake smiled. "That true?" he asked, making no effort to hide the proud look he was giving his child. "Well I'm proud, she's always been a quick study."

Demi came over to her adopted father and nodded. "Yeah, Spyro taught me a lot, it wasn't easy but I did my best," she said, her shy exterior cracking somewhat as a big smile crossed her face. Learning as fast as she had was something to be proud of.

Drake gave his adopted daughter a soft pat on the back, taking great care not to hurt her with his massive strength. "Good, that's all anyone can do."

Ember nodded. "Good job, Demi. It sure is nice of Spyro to teach you, it isn't easy to learn new things," she said, speaking from experience. "When I learned my fire moves, it wasn't easy. Especially since I didn't have a skilled Fire Dragon there to help me. Even after I got to the temple, since there was no Fire Guardian at the time…"

"Hey, I just thought of something," said Sparx, looking to the ground with a confused look. "If Pinky here became Fire Guardian cause she's the only Fire Dragon that the Apes didn't smash, doesn't that mean Demi here is the next Earth Guardian?"

"What?" asked Demi, eyes going wide in shock. "I'm the new Earth Guardian? Ember is Fire Guardian? No one had told me about this!" she cried, looking around in panic. She knew what the Guardians were, of course, but she was quite clearly never expecting to be one.

Spyro, Cynder, and Ember exchanged looks in shock before Cynder conked Sparx on the head with her paw for his outburst. The poor girl was shy enough as it was, they'd all have been better to break it to her slowly.

"Demi, I'm Fire Guardian because our Year of the Dragon was when the Guardians were meant to choose their successors. I'm the only Fire Dragon from our year whose still alive," Ember explained, saying it carefully. Even a socially naïve Dragoness like her new better than to drop a bombshell like that on someone. "And you're kind of the only Earth Dragon from our year that's left…"

"Demi…you don't _have_ to," said Spyro, keeping his voice calm to reassure the surprised Dragoness. "It's just your birthright to take if you want it. "

"Terrador is really old but he can wait for another Earth Dragon this year, there are plenty of eggs," said Cynder, keeping calm. "There's no rush for you to take his place."

"And I'm Fire Guardian because I wanted to be. You don't have to be Earth Guardian if you don't want to," said Ember, trying to help.

Demi sighed. "I…I don't know…it sounds like a lot of responsibility, I don't know if I could take it…" she said, shaking heavily. She was shy as it was, suddenly being the focus of attention didn't help. "But I don't want to let anyone down…"

"You won't let anyone down, no matter what you choose to do," said Spyro, putting a comforting paw on her shoulder.

"Plus, you've got plenty of time to think it out," said Cynder, seeing Demi was clearly shocked and scared from this bombshell being dropped on her.

Ember nodded. "That's right, we've got this great big mission to do, there's no rush," she said. "I took about a week or so to make my choice. No one will think any less of you."

Drake patted Demi on the back lightly. "Demi, just think about what you want to do, not what anyone else wants," he said, smiling down to his adopted daughter.

Demi smiled back up at him, glad to have him there. "Thanks, daddy," she said, looking thoughtful as so many thoughts rushed through her head..

"Alright, now that that awkward moment is over…" said Sparx, rubbing his head from getting conked by Cynder. "Am I the only one whose still terrified of the monsters out to kill us? Especially since we're headed to their castle?"

"Relax, Sparx," said Spyro, rolling his eyes. "We've been through worse."

"Uh huh, when?" asked Sparx, glaring at his brother.

"Oh yeah, you weren't there when we fought our way through a volcanic wasteland with Malefor's entire army trying to kill us," replied Cynder, in a sarcastic tone. "Or fighting Malefor himself while plummeting down a volcano to the core of the world?"

"Uh…" said Sparx, for once in his life speechless. "I have no response for that…"

"My," said Drake in a surprised tone. "I'm still pretty shocked by all of that," he said. "After all, even for the Purple Dragon, saving the entire world is an impressive feat."

Demi nodded slowly. "Yeah…it's pretty cool…"

Ember nodded. "Spyro and Cynder are awesome!" she said, excitement clear in her voice, though not flirting that time, as if something was on her mind other than that. "…Demi, maybe could we talk for a sec?" she asked, managing to suppress her excitement, keeping a calm voice.

Demi nodded slowly. "Sure…" she replied, her voice as respectful as possible. Her own age or not, Ember was the Fire Guardian after all. Even if Demi was in line to be Earth Guardian, Ember had seniority in that field.

Ember nodded, walking off a ways with the Earth Dragoness. "Look…I know how hard this must be for you," she said, keeping her voice calm. "I felt the same way when I found out I was going to be a new Fire Guardian."

Demi blinked. "Really? You seem so confident," she replied in a surprised tone

Ember nodded slowly. "Yeah," she replied. "I'm not really all that confident really…" she continued, lowering her head and looking thoughtful. "Spyro and Cynder are my heroes, they've saved the whole world…I'm just the rookie Fire Guardian whose never really done this before…" she explained, her normal excitement absent as she opened up. "I'm not even sure if I belong here, if I can measure up to them or not. They're my heroes…I'm just a kid who might be in way over her head…" she said, uncertainty in her voice. "But I don't let it get me down," she said, snapping back into her normal demeanor.

Demi nodded. "Well you certainly don't seem down…"

Ember chuckled. "I guess not. But really, I idolize them so much because I'd really like to be like them…" she said, smiling lightly. "I'm childish, naïve, and have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to war…they've saved the world and survived near everything…" she continued, giving a thoughtful look. "Anyway…when they told me that I was going to be the new Fire Guardian, I didn't know what to think," she said, thinking back. "But after giving it some thought, I decided to that I wanted to protect my mom in any way I could…That's why I took the job."

Demi gave that some thought. Did she have a reason why she should accept? She looked up slowly as something dawned on her. "…I'd like to protect daddy…"

Ember smiled. "That's good…I promise, I'll put in a good word for him," she said. "I know how important being with family can be…part of the reason I'm here is to save my father from the Gargoyles…his name is Blaze, I haven't seen him since I was a little hatchling…he kept sending letters to us, but then he got kidnapped and disappeared. I've been praying and hoping ever sense."

Demi nodded, giving a small smile. "I can sympathize with that," she said, no sign of deception in her tone at all. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to daddy."

Ember nodded, though she found it interesting that Demi referred to her father as daddy. Then again, who was she to judge? She knew how naïve and childish she could be sometimes. "Well, I'm sure that the dragons will accept them, after all, he saved you, right?"

Demi nodded. "Yeah…I really hope they do…daddy has wanted redemption for so long."

Ember nodded in agreement. "Like I said, I'll sure put a good word in for you," she said, then heard rustling in the bushes. "Hello?"

* * *

Drake came back to Spyro and Cynder after talking to the Cheetahs. "Got some bad news," he said, rubbing the back of his head regretfully. "Apparently one of their group was taken by some Naga," he explained. "It took them awhile to identify who it was and after all you'd done for them they didn't want to worry you if they didn't have to."

"Why would they want a…" started Cynder, then gasped, eyes widening. Spyro got a similar reaction. "What was his name?"

"Said his name was Hunter," said Drake, then noticed their reactions, which were worried looks and gasps. "What's wrong?"

"Deadlock took him because of us," said Spyro in a very worried tone, concern obvious on his face.. "Hunter's our friend, Deadlock's trying to ruin our lives."

"And now she has Hunter…" said Cynder, likewise having obvious concern in her voice and face.

"Who knows what she'll do to him…" said Spyro, his voice heavy with sorrow.

* * *

Deadlock turned as there was a knock on her door. "Come in," said the ice head, General Grendel entering the room leading a cheetah cloaked in a red cape by chains around his wrists and ankles, Hunter.

"Oh, it's Spyro and Cynder's little friend," said the ice head, a sly smirk crossing her face, but her voice genuinely kind.

"Hello there," said the electric head, voice happy and jolly as always.

"Can I eat him?" asked the fire head, smoke pouring out of her nose and face contorted in fury.

"No!" said the ice head sharply, her face contorting in disgust. "We're vengeful, not savages!"

"She's right," said the electric head, snaking around and looking Hunter over. "Besides, just because we hold a 24 year long grudge on Spyro and Cynder doesn't mean we've got to be mean to their friends."

"What do you want with Spyro and Cynder?" asked Hunter, just now hearing of this, had he'd been captured before word from the temple could reach Cheetah Village. Needless to say, his expression turned to concern over his friends.

Deadlock chuckled. "Oh, don't worry your little head about that, cheetah," replied the ice head, lightly patting his head, much to his annoyance.

"Yes, you've got your own things to worry about," said the fire head, a deranged smirk crossing her face.

"I know, let's have Commander Khione watch him, she's always quite inviting," said the electric head, not a hint of sarcasm on her face or in her voice, however.

"Yes, that will do," said the ice head, lowering her head to look at Hunter. "Don't worry, it's not your blood we're after," she said, then looked at General Grendel. "Please take him to Khione's dungeon block, tell her to make sure he's well taken care of," she said, her voice likewise containing no double meaning that could be discerned.

"Yes my queen," said Grendel, bowing honorably and leading Hunter away, though the Cheetah struggled considerably.

"Now, back to business," said the ice head, Deadlock turning back to her work. "Hopefully the rest of our little plan will go just as well."

"It's too bad Commander Hades died in the process though," said the fire head. "I liked him, very violent."

"We should send flowers to his widow," said the electric head, showing a bit of mourning over one of her trusted minions dying.

The ice head nodded. "Yes…though I don't think she's too upset," she continued. "After all, he wasn't the most loving husband either."

"Oh yes," said the electric head, frowning. "Better send the flowers anyway," she said, returning to a bright smile as the three headed dragoness returning to her preparations. "Oh, and let's send Commander Venti to take care of that other little matter. The one I told you about earlier."

"Oh yes," said the ice head, snaking her way around to the lava pit, a pair of dragonflies in a swamp appearing in the pool, though details were fuzzy. "Spyro's old home," she said with a sinister smirk. "Let's see how much pain this will cause him, shall we?" she asked, letting out an evil laugh, the other two heads joining in.

* * *

"Hey, don't get too worked up," said Drake. "No one said Deadlock took him," he said, no sign of panic present in him at all. "The Naga might have been more from Hades' group and took him on to the Gargoyles. They might have thought he'd be more valuable than the others or one might have decided to split the payment for him between a smaller bunch," he continued, thinking it out. "After all, you saw how Hades reacted to his men being wiped out."

Spyro nodded slowly. "Yeah…I guess you're right…"

Cynder took a deep breath and her tense body relaxed. "Worrying won't do anyone any good," she said, unable to cleanse all worry from her voice. "We're heading to beat the Gargoyles anyway, so if they have Hunter, then we can rescue him."

"I still don't like where that's going…" muttered Sparx, earning a growl from Cynder, causing him to cover his head in panic.

"Hey guys!" called Ember's voice from the forest.

"Ember?" asked Spyro, looking over and Ember and Demi came running.

"Guys!" said Ember, panting from running all this way. "Look what we found!"

Demi motioned into the woods and Cyros emerged, still with her guitar but her tattoo missing. "Her name is Cyros," explained Demi.

Cyros smiled, pretending to be happy to see them. "Hi there," she said, trying to appear nice to hide her true motivations.

Spyro and Cynder, for the second time tonight, having shocked looks on their faces. "Another dragon?" asked Spyro, at a loss for words.

"Must've been one of those two other dragons Ignitus told us about," replied Cynder. "Uh…hello…I'm Cynder, this is Spyro. I see you already met Ember and Demi."

Cyros nodded and bowed. "My name is Cyros, glad to meet you," she said, some surprise in her voice as she sat down.

"It's good to meet you," said Ember, sitting down with the rest of the group around the fire. "We actually were looking for two dragons out here, never thought you'd walk right up to us."

"Well I was curious," replied Cyros, somewhat ill at ease from their politeness.

"Yeah, so are we," said Sparx, suspicious, as always. "How'd you get all the way out here?"

"Oh, my mom brought my egg out here after the temple raid," replied Cyros. "Me and my brother."

"Your brother?" asked Cynder, surprised.

"Yeah, his name is Pyrus," replied Cyros, appearing as happy and unthreatening as she could. "We're not really brother and sister, mom just grabbed two eggs when things went south during the raid and ran for it," she explained. "How did you know we were out here?"

Spyro rubbed his head with a nervous smile. "Sorry, forgot you wouldn't know that…A dragon we know named Ignitus told us two dragon eggs ended up out here, discovered a third, which was Demi. We went looking for them."

Cyros just looked more confused. "But how did he know that?"

"Long story," said Cynder, knowing it'd sound crazy to tell her everything in one big chunk about Ignitus.

Drake looked around, noticing the dragons probably wanted to talk. "I think I'll go hunt, you all enjoy yourselves," he said, knowing having an Ape here would probably be awkward for all involved. He got his swords and a spear before heading out.

"Bye daddy," said Demi, waving shyly, not entirely comfortable being left with the other dragons but knowing it would probably be good for her to get over her shyness.

Cyros had to resist laughing. The girl seriously still called him daddy? She quickly continued to avoid it. "Anyway…she headed out here to protect herself and us," she continued, not pressing Cynder for more answers. She was smart enough to know when something was harder to talk about.

"Wow, kind of like my mom," said Ember, smiling. She wasn't surprised really, it was probably one of the main ways Dragons had survived the raid.

"And my daddy too," said Demi, her voice a little louder as she tried to be a bit less shy.

Cyros blinked, truly taken off guard. "Wow…didn't expect that….sorry, I'm not used to other people relating to that part of my life…"

"Well we do," said Ember. "And it's always fun to meet other people like you," she replied, smiling.

Cyros shifted uneasily. "Wow…I guess that's true…I guess…"

"So, where are your mom and your brother?" asked Spyro, if he'd learned nothing from the war, it's the more allies they found the better. That and he could tell this was getting into awkward territory with Cyros.

"Oh, mom is back home, dealing with the Naga," said Cyros, as if it was no big deal. "You'll meet my brother soon, he's on his way."

"Can't wait," said Spyro, smiling at the mention of meeting another dragon.

Cynder nodded. "After thinking we were the sole survivors of our Year of the Dragon for 24 years, any survivors are a welcome find."

"Well, same here," said Cyros, giving a fake, but convincing smile. "So…where are you heading?"

"To the Gargoyle city," said Spyro. "We're going to beat Tyrania and liberate this area."

"And then we're moving on to beat the Naga and rescue the eggs they stole from the Dragon Realms…" said Cynder, before looking down as she remembered why they were there. "Including ours…" she said, getting a comforting nuzzle from Spyro.

"Oh…well I wish you luck," said Cyros, giving another fake, warm smile. "I'm not much of a fighter, but my brother will probably be willing to help," she continued, preferring half-truths to than outright lies.

"That's fine," said Spyro. "Not everyone is a fighter after all."

"Ok, enough talk about!" said Ember, smiling. "Let's just relax, ok?" she asked, not wanting to make her new friend uncomfortable. It was also partly because she did get a little jealous when Spyro nuzzled Cynder.

"Yeah, good point," said Spyro. "Cyros just got here, we should be happy about that."

Cyros was taken slightly off guard at how accommodating they were. "Well thanks…that's nice of you…" she replied, trying to regain her composure before they noticed.

"What are friends for?" asked Cynder, trying to be friendly, though a little concerned by her reaction.

"Yeah…friends," said Cyros, finding this kind of uncomfortable.

* * *

"So…" said Pyrus, walking beside of Delilah. "What's it like being a Kitsune?"

"Oh, it's fun," said Delilah, smirking. "Playing tricks on people, but helping those in need. It's interesting."

"Ok…" said Pyrus, looking up at the stars. "So you like to mess with people?" he asked, looking back and finding Delilah gone. "Um…Delilah?" he asked, looking around slowly. "Delilah?" he asked, looking around.

Delilah swung down in his face from a tree. "Yes?" she asked, smiling. Pyrus screamed and fell on his back in surprise. Delilah's response was to laugh gleefully. "Yeah, I like messing with people," she said, floating down and helping him up. "But I don't mean any harm by it."

Pyrus nodded slowly. He then chuckled. "Guess so, you're funny."

Delilah nodded. "Thanks, you're pretty cool yourself," she continued, she then sniffed the air and growled.

"What is it?" asked Pyrus, sniffing himself to try and find out what she was smelling.

"Rats," said Delilah.

"What is it?" asked Pyrus, cocking his head.

"No, _literally _Rats," replied Delilah, snapping to face several coming out of a bush.

"Well there's the little brat," said one of them, smirking. "We figured there was something up when those three didn't come back to base, turns out we've got the prince of the Naga in our turf."

Pyrus whimpered. "What do we do?"

"Fight," said Delilah, simply.

"But last time…" said Pyrus, remembering how he'd reacted to seeing blood on his claws and grimacing just at the thought of it.

"Don't look them in the eyes, it helps," said Delilah. "And just use your fire and horn, it'll help."

Pyrus nodded slowly, hoping she was right. As a Rat jumped at them, he let loose a torrent of flames, lighting him on fire and sending him falling to the ground. Another blast finished the job.

Delilah jumped up to dodge a slash from the sword, disappearing. "Huh?" asked the Rat, looking around.

"Up here!" called the young Kitsune, perched on his sword. She opened her tails, blue fire emerging at the tips, which she launched forwards and blasted the Rat in the face with. As he staggered back burn, she leap forwards and slashed him repeatedly with her claws, finishing him.

Pyrus looked at two more Rats coming at him and launched a Fire Bomb, hitting the ground between them and blowing them away. He charged one of them and struck him with a Comet Dash, killing the Rat. As the other rose, Pyrus charged and smashed him over the head with his tail club, finishing him off.

The remaining two attacked Delilah, but the Kitsune's eyes glowed, confusing them with an illusion that distorted their vision. She followed up with another blast of blue fire, lighting them aflame and killing them. Delilah then turned to Pyrus. "Feeling ok?"

Pyrus panted and nodded. "Yeah, a little queasy, but ok…"

"Good," said Delilah, handing him some gems from the dead Rats. "Better heal yourself."

Pyrus nodded, but before he could shatter them, a blast of wind blew them away from them. "Huh?"

"My my, if it isn't little Pyrus," said a rather refined, but devilish voice nearby.

Pyrus turned and saw a large, humanoid weasel with black fur standing nearby. He wore a brown trench coat and black bowler hat, as well as a monocle, but nothing else, and held a cane in hand. With him were three smaller, but similarly dressed brown furred weasels, though only the big one had the hat and cane, though each of his underlings had some defining characteristic among them.

"Boss Kaze," said Delilah with a low growl, seemingly brimming with hate towards him.

"That's Kaze?" asked Pyrus, suddenly terrified. After what his sister told him, who could blame him?

"My reputation precedes me," said Kaze, a devilish smirk crossing his face as he took a bow and tipped his hat.

"What do we do with him boss?" asked one of the smaller weasels, sharing his boss's devilish grin.

"Simple, we take him and ransom him off, easy as that," said Kaze, maintaining his smirk and refined speech. He didn't even seem to take much notice of Pyrus, outside a small glance towards him to keep his eyes on him.

"Stay away from my friend!" yelled Delilah, taking a battle stance

"Friend?" asked Kaze, giving a chuckle, his henchmen laughing until he silenced him by raising his cane. "I'm afraid there are simply no such thing."

"Everyone in the world is only out for themselves," said one of the weasels, chuckling to himself despite Kaze's silencing. This particular Weasel had two gold teeth for canines, which made them quite visible when he laughed.

"You're friends, aren't you?" asked Pyrus, trying not to hide behind Delilah, no matter how scared he was.

"No, dear boy," said Kaze, before uppercutting the Weasel that dared to laugh after he'd stopped him, knocking him clear off his feet and over Kaze's head. "And I told you to stop laughing, Fang!" he yelled, getting angry for a second, eyes going feral for a second before he caught himself. "We are merely pursuing a mutually beneficial partnership," he said, readjusting his monocle and regaining his composure.

"We're using one another to reach our own goals," said one of the smaller weasels, seeing the boy's confused look in response to Kaze's statement. This one wore black gloves over his hands for some reason.

"That and Boss Kaze is much stronger than us," said Fang, rubbing his jaw from his boss' punch and rising to his feet. "An easy way to look out for your own well being is follow someone in power who will protect you if you serve him."

"Well I don't care," said Pyrus. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"I'm afraid you do not have a choice," said Kaze, pulling his cane up and suddenly vanishing in a blur. Before Pyrus could react, Kaze was behind him, holding a sword pulled out of his cane to the little dragon's throat. "You are coming with us rather you like it or not," the thief lord explained, his tone still remaining unthreatening.

"Pyrus!" yelled Delilah, spinning around, blue fire ready.

"Now little fox, let's not do anything foolish," said Kaze, giving another toothy, devilish grin, this one a tad more deranged than normal. "If you attack me, the boy might "accidentally" lose a good bit of blood."

"Yeah, all of it!" said Fang, with another unhinged laugh.

"Claw, I can't reach him this time," said Kaze with a sigh.

Another of the Weasel's, the one wearing strange gloves over his hands bonked Fang on the head and knocked him to the ground again.

Delilah snarled, but slowly lowered her tails. She then prepared to use an illusion to distract him, but one of the weasels got behind her and held a cloth to her mouth and nose. She struggled, but soon passed out from the tranquilizer in it.

"Delilah!" yelled Pyrus, worried for his friend.

"Don't worry your little head, she's just out cold," said Kaze.

"What should we do with her boss?" asked the Weasel who'd knocked her out, this one, unlike the others, kept his coat buttoned up.

"Leave her here, Blaster, we got what we came for and Kitsune are immortal so there's nothing we can really do about her, and she doesn't look like she's worth much," Kaze explained, then let Pyrus go and smacked him on the back of the head, knocking him out cold. "Delilah?" he asked, looking over at the little Kitsune. "I know I've heard that name before…hmm, no matter, let's get going," he said, moving on. The huge weasel picked him up and lead his group off towards their base.

* * *

The group set around the fire, slowly eating some fish that the Apes had provided. "This is pretty good," said Ember.

Demi nodded. "We've had lots of practice," she said, once more trying not to be as shy.

Spyro took a fish from the fire and handed it to Cyros. "You look hungry, there's plenty, eat as much as you like."

Cyros stared at it for a second before taking it. "…Thanks…" she said, a hint of confusion clear in her tone. She then ate quietly at the fish, not sure how to react. Why were they all so nice? They'd done nothing but show compassion and kindness towards her, even sharing their meal with her…It didn't matter…all that mattered was she got what she wanted. Why change something that had never let her down before?

"Cyros," said Cynder. "You play music?" she asked, pointing to the guitar.

Cyros nodded. "Yeah, it's a gift from one of my mom's friends," she explained. "Want to hear some music?" she asked, hiding a sly smirk.

"Sure," said Spyro. "With all we've been through, a little music would be nice."

Cyros brought her guitar around, then picked it slightly, finding it was out of tune. "Hold on a second, got to tune it," she said, turning around and starting tuning it. She then reached for the crystal but hesitated. They'd been treating her so nice…could she really do this? She gave it some thought…no, what did she care? They were just pawns in her game, nothing more, nothing less. Tools to get what she wanted, that's what they were…right?

Cyros tapped the gem, turning it pink before turning around. "Alright, here's something I wrote myself," she said, giving a smile and beginning to play a slow, soothing melody.

"_We all have things we hide, that no one knows_

_Things we just can't come out and let show_

_What lays deep below our masks outside_

_All the secrets that within us abide,"_ sung Cyros slowly, concentrating her gaze on Ember and Cynder, her eyes flashing pink.

Cynder and Ember's eyes flashed pink as well and they seemed to enter a slight trance, but it wasn't noticed by Spyro. Demi, however, noticed something looked off with them.

"_Not everyone can handle their secret truth to be told_

_They just can't come right out and speak bold_

_A crush we don't let anyone know_

_What we're afraid to let show_

_A inner anger that grows like a fierce flame_

_Jealousy that we just cannot manage to tame,"_ Cyros sung, the crystal flickering with the notes.

Cynder and Ember's eyes got a slight pink tint to them. Ember leaned against Spyro rather seductively. "It's romantic, isn't it, Spyro?" she asked, flitting her eyes.

Demi watched this slowly, unsure what was going on but able to tell something wasn't right. She looked at Cyros' guitar, seeing the gem glow and flicker with the music. _Is she doing something to them?_ Demi thought.

Spyro moved away from Ember. "Uh…I guess," he replied, surprise in his voice. He felt like something weird was going on and noticed Cynder was growling lowly, her wings spreading slightly and tail whipping around.

"_But sometimes what's inside us just has to come out_

_There's no reason we should keep it bottled up and pout_

_Something you got to just let loose and show the world_

_Let our own little secrets be free and let them unfurl_

_There's some things that we just have to let people know_

_So just let it go, and bring out your secrets for the show,"_ sung Cyros, smirking and speeding up the beat as she sung.

"Glad you think so, Spyro," said Ember, batting her eyelids flirtatiously before she suddenly turned and kissed Spyro on the cheek, causing him to jump back.

"You little pink prick! Stay away from my mate!" yelled Cynder as she pounced on Ember.

"Your mate?" yelled Ember back, kicking her off and the two getting into a catfight.

"Cynder! Ember! Stop it!" yelled Spyro, rushing in and trying to break them up, Demi doing the same, neither having much luck as the two continued clawing and striking at each other.

"_That's it, come on now, don't be shy!_

_Show us what secrets within you lie!_

_Don't be afraid, don't be ashamed!_

_If they don't like it, you're not to blame!_

_There are secrets about you no one knows!_

_Now open up wide and let those secrets show!"_ sung Cyros, picking up the beat, the Cynder spat a stream of poison at Ember, which thankfully missed while Ember kept trying to get away from her to Spyro.

Demi realized what's going on as she saw the pink glow in Ember and Cynder's eyes. "You're doing this…" she said softly, looking to the pink glowing crystal on Cyros' guitar as Demi herself tried holding Ember back.

"_Now the secrets inside have come out!_

_But that doesn't mean you should pout!_

_You're not doing anything wrong or bad!_

_It's not your fault those secrets made the other mad!_

_Whose fault is it if you don't like their real colors?_

_And that your friendship has just hit troubled waters?"_ sung Cyros, increasing the pace of her song as she smirked evilly.

Before Cyros could sing the next verse, Demi fired a Earth Missile at her, prompting her to shield herself with her wings and get blown back, her guitar being knocked out of her grasp and stopping the music. Cynder and Ember's eyes instantly returned to normal and they both shook their heads in confusion, looking around in confusion.

Ember got hot under the scales, ashamed of herself. "Sorry…that isn't like me," she said, yeah, she had a crush on Spyro, but she wasn't that openly flirtatious. "I have nod idea why I acted like that…"

"Me neither, I'm sorry," said Cynder, lowering her head in shame. Attacking her best friend for anything wasn't in her nature at all. Even if Ember had crossed the line.

"She did it," said Demi, disgusted, pointing at Cyros, enraged at the ice dragoness' actions to the point she ignored her shy nature.

"What do you mean?" asked Spyro, his voice tired and confused. Holding Cynder back was no easy task.

"Their eyes were glowing pink, just like that jewel on her guitar," said Demi. "And the stuff she sung, about inner rage and hidden crushes, just like what they were fighting over. She must've cast a spell on them!"

Cyros chuckled. "Took you long enough!" she said, rising up and spreading her wings as fire surged down her tattoo's normal place, revealing it to the group.

"A Naga Tattoo?" asked Spyro, eyes wide in shock. "You're working for Deadlock?"

"Close," said Cyros. "I'm her daughter, the Princess of the Naga," she said, giving a dark chuckle as she picked up her guitar.

Sparx's jaw dropped. "Well…how many other surprises are going to hit us before this is over?"

Cynder snarled fiercely, tail whipping about and wings spread threateningly. "You made me attack my friend!" she yelled, leaping at Cyros.

Cyros tapped the jewel, turning it red and played it, sending a blast of visible sound waves and blasting Cynder back. "I didn't do anything," she said, giving a sinister smirk. "I merely brought to the surface what was in there all along. Pinky loves Spyro and Mrs. Darkness is furious at her."

Ember gasped, suddenly looking hurt. "Cynder…you…you're really mad at me this whole time?" she asked, confusion clear on her face and hurt in her eyes. "Why?" she asked in disbelief.

Cynder looked up at her in distress as she got to her feet, not wanting Ember to find out her real feelings like this. This was exactly what they were trying to avoid. "Ember…yes…I do get mad at you sometimes…but it's…you just don't understand," she said, stumbling through her words as she spoke.

"Why?" asked Ember, only getting more confused and hurt. "What did I do?" she asked, trying to figure it out. She didn't understand what was going on, she knew Cynder had an adopted egg and Spyro was helping her with it, but she didn't know they were actually mates due to her naivety preventing her from picking up the hints…or was it more than just that? She was starting to wonder…

"Ember…" said Spyro, knowing that this had to be cleared up now that Cyros forced their hand like that. "I know you've got a crush on me…but…Cynder and I are mates…we love each other," he explained, Ember's face falling. "I like you as a friend…but that's all we can ever be…"

"Ouch!" said Cyros with a sinister laugh. "That's got to hurt! You just got shot down!" she said, enjoying this. "How's it feel to know that you've got no chance at all with the one you love?" she asked, looking as Ember got more distraught. Sparx suddenly threw a fish from the fire in Cyros' face to shut her up. It worked, as Cyros cried out in pain and tried to get the hot fish off her.

Ember's eyes teared up. "Spyro…I…I really love you…" she said, feeling like she did, but having not been up front with it before now out of fear of this.

"I know, Ember…but I don't love you…not the way you think you love me…" said Spyro, pain in his voice as his tried not to hurt her any more than he had to. "And Cynder loves me too…I'm sorry, we never told you because we didn't want to hurt you…"

Ember didn't know how to respond but started crying. "But…" she started, voice breaking from sorrow…and guilt as something else dawned on her.

"Ember, I'm sorry," said Cynder, feeling rotten for it happening this way, even if it was Cyros' fault. "You're my best friend, and I've been trying hard to avoid having to break your heart…I don't want this to ruin our friendship…but I love Spyro, we've been mates for awhile. We wanted to break it to you easy when we got back home to avoid it happening like this…please don't take it too hard…" she continued, hoping Ember would understand. This was a hard way to have to tell her and she wanted to tear out Cyros' throat right now for making them do it like this. "I hope we can still be friends.

Ember looked up slowly, hurt clear in her eyes. "…Y-yeah, Cynder…we can…it's not your fault…" she said, trying to maintain an understanding tone but her voice cracking from heartbreak. "I didn't know…I thought I still had a chance…it's my fault…" she said, wings sinking as it hit her she'd been causing her best friends and heroes so much trouble. She sobbed lightly, wondering how she hadn't picked up on the fact Spyro wasn't into her from the get go. Then something hit her… "I…I think I did…but…I just didn't want to believe it was true…I wanted to think I still could be with Spyro…" she stated, realizing how blind she'd been…how stupid she'd been. "I'm so sorry…" she said, looking up, tears still in her eyes. "It's…it's all my fault…"

"I hate to interrupt," said Cyros before Spyro and Cynder could react. "But I have a friend who has to pick something up," she said, snapping her fingers and causing a Warrior Gargoyle to suddenly swoop down, grabbing Ember by the back and carrying her off.

"Ember!" yelled Spyro and Cynder, eyes wide in shock.

Before Ember could respond, her mouth was held shut and the Gargoyle continued flying off. Spyro and Cynder tried to take off after her but Cyros blasted the air in front of them with her ice breath, forming a wall of ice. Spyro and Cynder spun around, snarling at the Ice Dragoness. "Where's he taking her?" demanded Spyro.

"Why to Gargoyle City, of course," responded Cyros with a smirk. "Don't worry, she'll just be put to work as a slave in their mines under horrible conditions," she said with chuckle. Though it was strange…she didn't feel like she was winning inside. _"I got what I wanted…so why do I feel like I'm the loser here?"_ she thought, trying to figure out why she felt bad for this, but hiding it behind her own façade.

"Why would you do this?" asked Demi in disbelief, shocked anyone could do something so cruel to their own race.

"Simple," said Cyros. "Mother wants Spyro and Cynder's lives to be a living nightmare," she said. "I don't always agree with her, but we're on the same page here," she explained, smiling cruelly. "Plus, consider this a little…incentive. Goodie goodies like you always do so much better with lives one the line," she stated, trying to justify it to them as much as herself. _"Yeah, that's right. This helps mom out too, and she'll be so happy when I tell her. Maybe she'll finally respect me! Got to have a backup play incase she wins the fight!" _she thought, managing to drive her uncertainties away.

Cynder glared daggers at Cyros, snarling viciously. This was the last straw. First having her egg stolen, then finding out Hunter was kidnapped. Now being manipulated by someone they'd accepted as a friend into hurting Ember, a dragoness she considered like a sister to her, and that same traitor getting Ember kidnapped. She'd finally reached her breaking point. "We accepted you with open arms! And you do this to us? You ungrateful witch! You are going to pay!" she snarled, shadows beginning to form around her.

Cyros laughed. "And whose going to make me?"

"Cyros! Stop!" yelled Spyro in a panicked tone. "You have no idea what you're doing!" he continued, knowing full well Cyros actions were pushing Cynder over the edge. "Cynder calm do-"

"Don't tell me what to do!" barked Cyros, before she interrupted Spyro with a sonic wave with her guitar, knocking him rather roughly to the ground. The sinister Dragoness laughed rather sadistically in response.

Cynder's response was a low, bone chilling snarl and a glare that scared even Cyros. Suddenly, Cynder's eyes lit up a bright white, darkness covering her whole body as she floated into the air, the aura tearing apart the ground and the ice wall and swirling it around her.

"Now you've done it!" said Sparx, covering his face against the wind given off by Cynder's transformation.

Cyros backed up, taken off guard. She quickly regained her composure and smirked. "Is that supposed to scare me?" she asked, a smug look on her face. That is before she noticed Cynder's reaction to her comment and her expression changed to pure terror. "Oh crap!" she exclaimed, diving out of a way of a giant block of ice being hurled at her like a missile.

Spyro looked up in terror as the shadow aura around Cynder took on the shape of Dark Cynder. They were all in deep trouble now…

* * *

I do believe that Cyros' words describe the last scene very correctly. Well, Deadlock's got Hunter and is scheming something nasty, Cyros has jumpped in over her head, Pyrus has been captured by a psychotic thief lord, and Ember has been kidnapped by Gargoyles. I do believe this is the darkest hour of the fic so far, don't you think? I know things have been quiet for the past few chapters, but things are just picking up! See you next time!

Also, anyone care to guess who Kaze and his Weasels are a homage to? Here's a hint, Kaze is based off two Disney villains and the Weasels off the minions of one of those villains.


	16. Captured

Hey guys! Time for a new chapter! Things get even more intense this time and I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Captured**

Cynder snarled in fury as she looked down at Cyros. "You're going to pay!" she yelled in a distorted voice, sending more of the rocks floating around her at the one who'd sent her into this rage. Cyros managed to dodge all of them, but then had to dodge streams of Convexity sent at her, tearing deep trenches in the ground.

"What's happening?" asked Demi, trembling in terror as she stared wide-eyed up at the events occurring in front of her.

"The ice queen over there doomed us all, that's what happened!" yelled Sparx, cowering behind a tree branch.

"Me and Cynder are infused with Malefor's darkness, when we reach our breaking point, this is what happens!" explained Spyro, not taking his eyes off the events transpiring. "Cynder! Stop!"

"Not until I make her pay!" yelled Cynder, landing and firing her Convexity Breath at Cyros several more time, leveling trees and forcing the princess to run for her life.

Kage suddenly materialized in front of Cyros and used a magic barrier to block a Convexity Breath attack to block Cynder's attack. "My Princess, I believe a strategic retreat is in order," he suggested, strain clear in his in his posture and voice as the barrier struggled against Cynder's assault..

"Get us out of here!" yelled Cyros, shaking in terror, heart racing as she looked wide-eyed at Cynder.

Kage nodded and fired a blast of energy into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the duo were gone.

Cynder snarled fiercely, shadows still covering her and eyes still glowing a bright white as she blasted the ground were Cyros had been standing once again. "Cynder! She's gone! Stop this!" begged Spyro, his voice pleading and desperate. "You can stop now…Cyros is gone…"

Cynder looked back over her shoulder at him, white eyes glowing sinisterly. "But the Gargoyles haven't…" she growled sinisterly before rushing off into the forest at high speeds.

Drake walked out of the woods just as Cynder made her statement and fled. "What happened?" he asked, looking over the destroyed area with wide eyes, shock clear in his voice.

"Pretty much all heck breaking loose," said Sparx, coming out from his hiding spot.

"Cyros was a spy for Deadlock, daddy," said Demi, shaking in fear, looking like she'd seen a ghost. Drake put a comforting hand on her back, getting Demi to relax a little. "She cast a spell on Ember and Cynder, causing them to fight. Then she got Ember kidnapped by Gargoyles and Cynder went berserk."

"Cynder turned back into Dark Cynder…" said Spyro, shaking his head sorrowfully as he looked down at the ground. "I…I can't fight her again…not after everything we've been through…"

"Now hold on, Spyro," said Drake. "Didn't she say something about the Gargoyles?"

Demi nodded. "She said she's going after them I think," she explained, cocking her head in confusion at her father's words.

"That probably means Cynder's not lost complete control," replied Drake, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "She's still got enough control to at least direct herself to attack enemies instead of her friends. There might be a chance to snap her out of it before she loses all control."

Spyro looked up, eyes widening in realization. "Then let's hurry…" he said, determination back in his eyes. "Are there any Gargoyles between here and the city?"

Demi nodded. "An outpost nearby, in the direction she headed."

"Alright, let's get to her before she loses it completely," said Spyro, his usual determination clear in his voice. Drake grabbed his weapons and started leading the way, Spyro and the others following as quickly as possible.

* * *

Pyrus groaned as he came too. "Ow, my head…" he muttered, rubbing his sore head, finding himself in a dirty cell, guarded by a pair of Rats, old lanterns lighting the room. "Where am I?" he asked, scared now.

"In our base little prince," said Kaze, entering the room slowly, his Weasels following. "I do hope you like your accommodations."

Pyrus whined, backing away from the massive weasel, eyes wide with fear. "W-Why are you doing this?"

"Simple," said Claw. "Money," he said, smirking sinisterly.

Pyrus growled and tried to attack but found a chain around his neck, holding him to the wall. He figured using his fire wouldn't get him anywhere, since he was backed into a corner. "My mom is going to get you for this! I hope you know that!" he said, hoping they'd fall for the bluff and let him go, but knowing it wasn't that easy.

"That's exactly why we're considering other people to ransom you too," said Fang, giving a laugh and getting himself smacked on the head by Kaze.

Pyrus whimpered. He hadn't thought of that. "Well…who else would you ransom me to?"

"The Gargoyles, the Dragons. Both would pay well. And there are a few pirates we know who love putting dragons like you in their battle areas," said Kaze, nonchalantly cleaning his monocle and placing it back on his head. "Sell you, then tip off Deadlock when she offers the reward, make double the profit without ever paying for it. By the time she realizes we kidnapped you in the first place, we'll be well out of her reach."

Pyrus lowered his head hopelessly. There was no way out of this he could see…

* * *

Ember gasped as she was thrown hard against the wall of a rocky cell deep below Tyrania's mountain. She groaned, slowly standing up, shaking with fright. " Where am I?" she asked, looking around in fright. "The mines…" she said, curling her tail around her as the cell door was slammed shut, causing her to cringe. She shivered, wrapping her wings around her for warmth, her breath visible in the cold air. She was thankful, however, for her own inner flame to keep her warm.

Ember thought back to how she got here and got even more depressed. "How could I be so dumb?" she asked as tears started down her face. "They're my heroes…Cynder's my best friend…I never stopped to think how I was acting made them feel," she muttered in a miserable tone. "And all this time they put up with me because they didn't want to hurt me…and I never saw it…" she continued, choking back a sob. "No…maybe I did know…I just wished I didn't…I was lying to myself!" she stated, shaking her head in self-loathing. "…How could I be so selfish?"

Ember curled up on the cold floor, trying to find warmth as she continued to cry and the situation sunk further in. She was trapped in a slave mine, deep below a volcano and was surely going to used as slave. All things considered, her situation couldn't get much worse. All she could do was lay there and sob, thinking over all that had happened. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be a Guardian…I can't even avoid hurting my friends or getting kidnapped by a stupid Gargoyle…"

Suddenly, the door opened and a Warrior Gargoyle entered. "Time to soften up the new slave," he said, approaching the frightened Dragoness while cracking his fingers.

* * *

Pyrus looked up as the door opened, a Rat entering the room, Kaze and the Weasels long gone. "Shift change," the new Rat said. "You guys can go now," he said, pointing over his shoulder.

"Where's the other one?" asked one of the two original Rats.

"Grabbing a snack before joining me," said the new Rat. "He'll be here shortly."

"Alright, fine by me," said the second of the original Rats, the new one stepping out of the way as they left the room, making sure they didn't see his back, but Pyrus did, causing him to cock his head in confusion. Give fox tails were curled up behind the Rat.

The new Rat closed the door and walked over to Pyrus' cell. "Hey, Pyrus," the "Rat" said, voice now one he knew.

Pyrus gasped. "D-Delilah?" he asked, startled.

The "Rat" spun around, transforming into Delilah, who chuckled. "Yep, did you really think I'd leave you here?" she asked, getting the keys and opening the cage door, then Pyrus' shackles.

"What happened to the real new guards?" asked Pyrus, confusion evident in his voice as he pondered the situation.

"I took care of them," said Delilah, finishing freeing her friend. "Had to hide their bodies so no one would find them though…"

Pyrus nodded, though he still gave a shiver at the mention of death. "Good idea, so how do we get out of here?"

Delilah looked nervous. "Well…I hadn't really thought that far in advance, you know?" she replied, rubbing the back of her head with her paw. "I honestly didn't know if I'd make it this far…"

Pyrus sighed. "Oh well…looks like we'll have to wing it," he replied, stretching out now that he was free of his chains. "Thanks for coming for me…" he said, gratefully.

Delilah smiled. "No big, what are friends for?" she asked, walking him out and peeking around the corridor, not seeing any Rats. "Alright, we'll need to try and sneak and/or fight our way out of here, think you're up for it?"

Pyrus nodded, in the situation not even questioning about fighting. "Well, at least we're together now," he replied in a relieved tone "How long before someone comes to replace the guards they think are there?"

"Probably about six hours," said Delilah. "From I heard those other Rats talking about, the ones I replaced," she continued, leading the way down the hall. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Pyrus shook his head. "No, just a little bump on the head is all."

Delilah nodded. "That's good, hope it's not too bad," she said, peeking around a corner and finding no one. "Let's go," she said, leading him forwards.

* * *

A Gargoyle outpost set in a clearing in the woods, resembling a medieval castle in design. Two Drones and a Warrior stood with spears at the entrance as guards, looking forwards. Suddenly, there was motion in the woods. The Warrior stepped forwards. "Who goes there?" he called, holding his spear forwards. There was no response. "…Probably just an animal…" he said, not noticing things had gotten rather silent. But when he looked back, he noticed one of the Drones was gone. "Where did he go?" he asked the remaining one, getting a shrug. "Well he has to be here somewhere!" he said, looking around.

He then heard the sound of stone shattering and looked back to see the shattered remains of the drone. He backed away in fear. "Whose there?" he asked, looking around, shaking in terror. "Drake?" he asked in a panic. "Come out!"

Suddenly, a Cynder's tail blade erupted out of his chest, the shadow engulfed Black Dragoness rising out of his own shadow and tearing the blade out of him. As he held his chest and tried to crawl away, she stabbed him again and again until he finally shattered to pieces. She slowly turned to the door to the outpost, blowing it off it's hinges with another blast of her convexity breath.

* * *

Ember let out a cry as she was slammed hard against a wall by the Warrior Gargoyle, already covered in bruises with a bleeding gash on her shoulder. Ember groaned, trying to stand up, only to be kicked in the side, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could catch her breath, an uppercut launched her across the room and into a wall.

Ember coughed, spitting out a little blood. She then looked up as he approached again and tried using her fire, but it sputtered out and only a small cloud of ash came out. "Try all you like," said the Gargoyle. "We make this room so cold to weaken fire type prisoners like you," he explained, approaching her.

Ember shivered more severely than before, he was right. It was like her inner flame was going out. "Please stop…" she cried, trying to back away from the Gargoyle.

The Gargoyle chuckled and picked her up by the throat. "This is the fun part," he said, then saw her necklace. "Empress Tyrania is looking for more gold, this will do nicely," he said, reaching down to grab it but she scratched the Gargoyle. The Gargoyle snarled and punched her in the gut, causing her to cough and hack from having the wind knocked out of her.

Ember watched as the Gargoyle reached for her necklace again. "Please…my dad gave that to me…" she muttered, weakly trying to hold his claw back. "Please, it's all I have to remember him by!" she begged, tears running down her face as he got closer to grabbing it

Suddenly, the necklace's jewel glowed with a fiery aura, some of which entered Ember's body and she suddenly felt revitalized completely, warmth flowing through her core. The Gargoyle cried out in pain, staggering back and clutching his now smoking hand. Ember opened her eyes as they lit up blue and she glowed with a fiery blue aura. Revitalized, she let loose a powerful stream of intense blue flames from her mouth, engulfing the Gargoyle in a massive cascade of azure fire.

Ember gasped, panting from the attack as her aura faded, looking up to see the attack had reduced her attacker to little more than a pile of ashes and gems. "What was that?" she asked, staring at the smoldering ashes and blue flames that still burned in absolute shock.

The flames in her necklace emerged and formed into the same firebird from the ruins, who landed gracefully before her. "Did you do that?" asked Ember, blinking in surprise.

The firebird nodded. "Yes, I did," it said, having a soft, female voice, the same as from the temple. "Well, sort of. I rekindled your inner flame with my own fire, as a goodwill gift. It seems I may have left a little more than that with you than I intended to, however," she continued, a puzzled look on her face. "I am Siria, the Queen of the Phoenixes," she explained, giving a bow.

"Wow…" said Ember, eyes sparkling as she looked over the beautiful bird. "You're so pretty…"

Siria seemed to blush. "Well…thank you, you're a pretty dragon."

Ember shook her head to clear it. "Oh, sorry, I get distracted some times…what were you doing in my necklace?"

"When you released me in the temple, I came to realization," said Siria. "I needed to hide somewhere, clearly a huge flaming bird following you around would've attracted unwanted attention. I was attracted to you and hid in your necklace."

Ember nodded, trying to make sense of it. "Why?" she asked, voice brimming with child-like curiosity.

"You have a similar fire to that of a Phoenix," explained Siria. "I felt comfortable with you, that's why I didn't come out until then…I was kind of afraid of your friends…" she continued, blushing with embarrassment.

Ember nodded thoughtfully. "I guess it's cause I learned my fire different than most other dragons," she guessed. "I learned mine from nature since I didn't really have a teacher."

Siria nodded. "That may also be why you were able to do that attack," she explained. "That was Blue Fire, a Phoenix ability. It seems that when I used my fire to restore yours, you picked up a few things from me as well," she continued. "It's likely because our fires are of the same type, yours absorbed what I fed it and assimilated some of my abilities."

Ember blinked. "Uh…what's assimilated mean?"

"Oh, sorry, it means they fused together into one," replied Siria.

"So I can do some Phoenix things now?" asked Ember, listening intently.

Siria nodded. "Yes, like that Blue Fire. But use that sparingly, as it drains your energy rapidly. As for what other abilities you've gained, I cannot be certain, I honestly didn't even know this could happen at all."

Ember nodded, glad to have increased her power, that'd help. "Ok…why are you all see-through?" she asked, looking her over curiously.

"Oh…that's because I am a spirit," said Siria.

Ember nodded "Ok, that makes sense…" She then realized something and her eyes widened. "Wait, you're a spirit…so that means…you're a ghost?" she asked, jumping in fright and backing up a little.

"Sadly, I am. But I'm a good one!" said Siria, adding the last part quickly. "1,000 years ago, the Phoenixes fell under siege by invaders. The Gargoyles, our guardians, protected us tirelessly, and we did our best to help them," she continued, then her face fell with sorrow. "One of them, Empress Tyrania, betrayed them by telling the enemy of the hiding place of the Gargoyles, where they slept…they were slaughtered in their sleep without a chance to defend themselves…" she recounted, remembering the massacre with much sadness in her eyes. "My people were soon enslaved by the invaders…until Tyrania betrayed her own allies, unleashing a secret army of her created Gargoyles on them without warning, claiming the land for herself…she then disposed of the Phoenixes as well…" she said, her voice breaking at several points in her story.

Ember whined. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Siria…that must've been terrible," she replied, thinking about her own situation. "When I think about it…it makes me sobbing over what happened to me seem pretty silly…" she said, lowering her head in shame as her excitement dulled.

Siria put her wing on Ember's back. "No, it doesn't, Ember," she said, a motherly tone to her voice. "Ember, to be honest, it's _good_ for you to feel like this."

Ember whimpered, tears in her eyes. "I don't feel very good…It feels like someone tore my heart out…and it's all my fault…how could this be good?"

Siria nodded. "But think of it this way, if you _didn't_ feel bad about this, you'd be hurting your friends with no remorse. No good person could do that," she explained. "And didn't you say yourself to the Apes that if you feel bad for doing something wrong, that makes you a better person."

Ember's blinked. "…I guess I did say that…" she said, uncertainty in her voice.

"That was very sound advice," said Siria. "There are those like Tyrania who can harm others and feel nothing, or worse, enjoy it. They're the bad ones."

"But how can I do something like that and then call myself Fire Guardian…" said Ember, looking down at her feet and watching a few tears fall on them. "That Fire Guardian is supposed to protect people, not hurt them…and I think a part of me knew and didn't want to accept it…which makes it worse…"

"In my mind, being able to feel remorse is something you'd need to protect people effectively," replied Siria. "As for making a mistake, we're all capable of it. It's fixing that mistake that's important."

Ember looked up slowly, listening. "…But how do I fix this?"

"That you'll need to find out for yourself," said Siria. "…There's an old saying for things like this; do what you can, respect what you can't. Do what you can to set it right, respect that some things cannot be changed and move forwards. Your friendship can be repaired."

Ember nodded slowly, wiping her eyes. "Thanks…you're really smart…" she replied, sniffling a little from her tears.

Siria smiled. "Thank you, Ember…I've lived thousands of life times and learned much," she said, then saw Ember's wounds and forced herself to cry, letting her tears fall in Ember's wounds.

Ember stared in awe as she watched her wounds seal up and vanish right before her eyes, and without a gem either. "How did you do that?"

Siria looked up at Ember. "Phoenixes are full of healing powers, our tears hold the most. With the proper ritual, we're even capable of resurrecting from the dead," she explained. "However…that requires our bodies being burned to ashes in the volcano above then exposed to sunlight, which is how Tyrania wiped us out…" she continued, sorrow returning to her voice. "The cloud she generates over the volcano blocked the sunlight from reaching the volcano's caldera, that is it's top where the ashes are, and Phoenixes from resurrecting…"

Ember frowned. "…Well if we beat Tyrania, will the Phoenixes come back to life?"

Siria nodded softly. "The ones who died in the volcano and whose ashes remain there will…but sadly, many are gone for good because they weren't cremated in the volcano…including my own beloved…" she stated, lowering her head at the thought of her lost love.

Ember gave Siria a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry…what about you?"

"I can resurrect, I merely used your fire to generate a pseudo-body from my ashes, which were placed in that temple so I could do just this," said Siria. "But by diving into the volcano, I will be able to revive completely."

Ember nodded, giving a determined look. "Then I'll help, I bet my friends will too…" she stated. _"If they forgive me…"_

Siria smiled lightly. "Thank you very much, Ember…" she said, then looked at Ember's necklace. "Didn't you say that necklace was given to you by your father, who is a slave here?"

Ember's eyes widened. "That's right! We can find him!" she said, excitement filling her as she realized this fact.

"Now Ember, relax," said Siria. "We need to be quiet so not to be discovered," she replied. "Shouldn't be hard, considering the Gargoyles seem not to have gotten more intelligent in the centuries I was sleeping," she continued, looking out into the hall and finding no one. "Come on," she called to Ember, leading the way.

* * *

Spyro and company soon arrived at the Gargoyle outpost…or what was left of it, which was flaming rubble. "Cynder did this?" asked Demi, staring at the flames burning throughout the compound in shock.

"…She did worse before," said Spyro, solemnly. "If we don't get her back, she _will_ do worse."

Drake nodded. "Spyro, you'll have to get through to her, she loves you and maybe you can still reach her before it's too late."

Sparx stayed behind Spyro's head, cowering in terror. "Am I the only terrified right now?"

Spyro ignored Sparx and hurried through the blazing outpost, finding nothing but shattered Gargoyles everywhere. He heard an explosion nearby and rushed towards the source of it.

Cynder snarled, the last five Gargoyles in the base before her, including a Warrior alongside the drones. The four Drone Gargoyles tried to flee but were obliterated by her Convexity Breath in midair as she slowly approached the remaining Warrior. He tried to defend himself with a shield, by Cynder quickly leapt on him and slashed it to ribbons, using her tail blade to cut his wings off to prevent escape. The Warrior screamed in panic and tried to flee, only to have his leg hooked by her tail, tripping him. Cynder then pulled him back towards him as he clawed the ground, trying desperately to escape. Glaring down at her prey, she jumped on him, coating her tail in poison.

"Cynder!" yelled Spyro, running up as the Gargoyle screamed when Cynder drove her tail blade through the him, though most of it was hidden by her body but the Gargoyle's limbs going limp as it happened completely visible.

Cynder turned around as the Gargoyle shattered to pieces, looking at him with the same glowing white eyes. "Leave me alone, Spyro!" yelled the corrupted dragoness. "They deserve this! They've done nothing but hurt others! They took Ember! They're helping the Naga hurt us! They're getting exactly what they deserve!"

"That might be true, but not like this!" replied Spyro, not backing down as the others hung back. "I want to stop them as much as you do, but I don't want to give in to my darkness to do it!"

"That's why Ember was taken!" yelled Cynder. "And that's why our egg was taken as well! I wasn't strong enough to protect either of them! What if next time it's you?" she yelled, showing sorrow in her eyes through the darkness holding onto her. "I'm tired of not being able to keep those close to me from getting hurt! I'm powerful like this! Just look around and see what I can do! I can protect them when I'm like this!"

"No, Cynder," said Spyro, softly. "You can't, you can't protect anyone like this. All your dark side can do is destroy. Look around you. If you do this in Gargoyle City, all the slaves, including Ember and her father could die, maybe Hunter if he's there," he continued, managing to cause her to look around the flaming rubble in shock. "We can save them, Cynder! It's not that you weren't strong enough, sometimes bad things just happen…" he continued, slowly approaching her. "We'll save them together, I promise…just come back to us, Cynder…come back to me," he said, concern clear in his eyes as he reached her.

The darkness warped, taking on the form of Cynder's evil adult self. Cynder lashed out at Spyro knocking him aside, only for him to slowly get up. She roared, charging and driving her tail blade into his shoulder, snarling as her body started distorting, growing. He cringed at this, but then looked back up, his face unchanged. "If you don't come back, then you'll be lost to the darkness…I can't lose you like that…you promised Ember you'd not let Dark Cynder regain control over you, are you going to let her down like that?" he asked, looking deep into her eyes. "Please come back, Cynder…please…I love you too much to lose you…" he stated, not making any attempt to defend himself.

Cynder let out a gasp, eyes widening before the darkness finally shattered, eyes and body returning to their normal form. "S-Spyro?" she asked, looking up and seeing her tail blade driven into his shoulder, before pulling it out. "I'm so sorry…" she said, a horrified looked on her face as tears started to form. "What…what have I done?" she asked, looking around the destroyed base in horror.

Spyro nuzzled his mate. "It's ok…" he consoled, ignoring his wounded shoulder. "It's not your fault, it was just too much for you to handle," he continued. "With everything that's happened, you were really strong not to let this happen before now."

Cynder sobbed on Spyro's unwounded shoulder, tears streaming down her face. "…It was like a nightmare where I couldn't wake up Spyro…just like before…it's not that I destroyed this base, it's _how_ I did it! I was so…so sadistic and brutal about it…"

"I know, I've been there too…" said Spyro, reassuringly. "But it's over now…" he asked, nuzzling her once comfortingly.

Cynder nodded slowly, nuzzling him back before coming back up to look Spyro in the eyes. "Yeah…it's just been one bad thing after another. Losing our egg, finding out I killed my mom, then being manipulated by Cyros and having Ember kidnapped…it was too much to take…" she said before trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I know…and we'll make Cyros pay," said Spyro. "But first, we need to save Ember and her father from the Gargoyles."

Cynder nodded, then saw Sparx fly over. "Sparx…"

"Look…I know I'm not one to say something like this but…" started Sparx, rubbing his head. "Good to have you back…" he muttered. "…I know I don't always show it, but…you're like family to me and I was scared back there…and not just because your dark side scares the crud out of me."

Cynder smiled lightly. "Thanks…" she replied softly.

"I'm glad too," said Demi, walking over, her father and his Apes following not far behind. "I was really scared you might not be able to come back."

Cynder nodded. "So was I…sorry I scared you…" she said, her face and voice full of guilt. "But it's over, now we can save Ember and end this."

"I hate to interrupt," said Drake, having an Ape tend to Spyro's wound. "But with the smoke coming off these buildings, we should probably get out of here and head for the Gargoyle City before reinforcements arrive," he explained. "Might be able to catch them off guard before they know what hit them."

Cynder nodded, some rage returning, but now under control. "Let's go get Ember out of there, she doesn't deserve being used as a slave, none of them do."

With that, Drake began leading the group along towards Gargoyle City. Spyro walked close to Cynder and nuzzled her. "I love you, Cynder, you mean the world to me…"

Cynder smiled, nuzzling her mate back. "Same here, Spyro…I love you…thanks for helping me get back…"

Spyro smiled back, nodding. "You've done the same for me."

Cynder nodded. "…I guess I have," she said, following along with Spyro towards the capital.

* * *

A new Warrior Gargoyle arrived at the tower were his predecessor had reported to the Empress. "Empress Tyrania, I have news from our outpost," he explained, bowing.

"What is it?" asked Tyrania. "You may speak."

"…It's been destroyed," said the Gargoyle. "No sign of survivors or who did it," he said, then noticed Tyrania's eyes narrow, his own eyes widening as Shadow Fire burst into his creator's maul, the glow visible through the cloud. "But we've gotten confirmation that Spyro and Cynder are in your territory!" he added quickly.

Tyrania's fires fizzled out. "They're here, are they?" she asked, still glaring at the Gargoyle.

The Gargoyle nodded quickly. "Yes, my Empress!"

"Well…it's about time! I was beginning to worry they'd never show!" replied Tyrania.

"My Empress, if I may have a moment," said a voice like grinding stone stated, a huge, more humanoid Gargoyle emerging from a the tower. His face consisted of two red eyes with a blank slate where his mouth would be and his body was sculpted with powerful looking muscles, a pair of horns sticking out from his head like a demon's. He had a strange gold collar around his neck as well. While his voice was menacing, he kept a submissive posture, bowing before his Empress.

"Why hello, my Warden," said Tyrania. "How are the slaves doing?"

"Same as always; miserable, overworked, and in constant physical torment," the Warden said, with a chuckle. "Just how I like it."

"How delightfully terrible! But I doubt that's why you're here," Tyrania replied.

The Warden shook his head. "My Empress, I must point out one thing you, in all your great wisdom, may have overlooked…" he said, seeing Tyrania's eyes narrow at this. He immediately backpedaled, holding his arms up in submission. "I-I m-mean no disrespect, my Empress! J-Just hear me out!" he replied, trembling in fear before Tyrania nodded slowly. "Thank you, my queen…" he responded, giving a deep breath and calming down. "What I mean is this…from what I've heard from the Naga, the Dragon Realms were only freed from Malefor by Spyro and Cynder's intervention. Well Spyro and Cynder are here, in your territory. That means they're _not_ there to protect the Dragon Realms at this time. We could take advantage of their absence and attack the Dragon Realms."

Tyrania's eyes widened. "Yes…yes, you're right!" she stated, her voice taking on a much more sly and menacing tone than before as she looked towards the boarders to her lands. "Attack and conquer the Dragon Realms while their heroes aren't there! Such a marvelous idea! Oh, I'm so glad I thought of it!"

"But it was my-" started the Warden, only to get a glare from Tyrania. "Your idea! It was your idea! What a wonderful idea, my queen!"

Tyrania chuckled. "Thank you, Warden," she said. "Now get back to work!"

The Warden jumped. "Y-yes, m-my queen! R-right away!" he yelled, running back down into the tower.

"True, I don't need more land, but whoever said you can have too many slaves?" Tyrania stated, laughing slowly, then getting more maniacal as her eyes lit up, as did those of the Gargoyle in front of her. Thousands of Gargoyle's took flight from the volcano, disappearing into the distance as their queen's laughter echoed through the air.

* * *

Cyros cringed as Kage tended to a burn on her leg from Cynder's attack. "Ow!"

"Sorry, my princess…" said Kage. "…Despite that…unforeseen occurrence, it would see your plan succeeded."

Cyros nodded with a growl. "Yeah, I guess…"

"…Is something troubling you?" asked Kage, looking Cyros' eyes.

"…No, nothing," said Cyros, looking away quickly.

Kage sighed. "You aren't used to being treated like they did, are you?"

Cyros scuffed. "What do I care? They're just pawns," she said, looking away more, almost completely turning her back on him.

"I think you do," said Kage. "I've been your guardian for years…I know you…"

Cyros shook her head. "No…I'm fine…can you leave me alone for a bit?" she asked. "I have to think…"

Kage nodded. "Yes, my princess. I'll be close by if you need me…" he said, slinking off.

Cyros sighed, slowly taking out her guitar and pecking the gem, turning it blue. She slowly began pecking away, playing a light, somber tune.

"_It seems so long…_

_Since I've felt like I did today…_

_Where did it go wrong?_

_How did we end up this way?"_ she sung, softly, sorrowfully, the light from the moons warping in a small pool of water in front of her, captured in the power of her guitar.

"_We once were so happy, so very close_

_We were a family, me, Pyrus, and you," _she sung, the light in the pool warping into the picture she had in her room, of her, Deadlock, and Pyrus happy together.

"_Back then, family was what mattered most._

_I felt loved, that much is true,"_ she sung, the picture in the puddle changing to an image of Deadlock tending to her when she had a skinned knee, having a loving nuzzle and embrace.

"_I can't remember how long…_

_How long it's been like those days_

_Where did things go wrong?_

_How did we end up this way?"_ she sung, the image turning to her sitting off coldly while Deadlock gave Pyrus the same attention she'd received in the previous image.

"_Today I was reminded of how it used to be_

_Back to when I really cared for you two_

_And you both really cared for me._

_And I wished that was still true,"_ she continued, the image changing back to her and Pyrus playing tag as Deadlock watched from her throne with a smile.

"_When they showed me kindness_

_I remembered how thing were then_

_Before I became full of bitterness_

_I missed how things have once been,"_ she sung, the image turning to a duel image of her with Pyrus in the past and Spyro's group at the campfire.

"_It's been so very long_

_Since to there my thoughts did stray_

_When did things go wrong?_

_How did it end up this way?"_ she sung, letting the image remain the same. She then snarled, face contorting with rage.

"_Now another memory fills my head._

_The day you chose him prince to be_

_And he forgot what he had said!_

_He said he wanted that to be me!"_ she sung, the image turning to Pyrus speaking with Cyros, placing a little rock crown he'd made on her head. It then changed to Deadlock placing the real crown on Pyrus' head, him accepting it and Cyros watching from the doorway, her face falling at the image.

"_My brother lied to me back then._

_He said he didn't want to be prince_

_But when I wasn't the one to win_

_What he did made me wince!"_ she continued, her past self smashing the rock crown on the floor and turning from Pyrus was set on the throne by Deadlock.

"_He wanted it for himself all along_

_I'll never forget that day!_

_The day I realized where I was wrong!_

_That's how things ended up this way!_

_He took the crown and just let things be_

_He took the crown right then and there_

_He forgot all about the promise he made to me!_

_That betrayal was too much for me to bare…"_ she sung, the image turning to her, as a child, in her room crying after the whole thing.

"_My own brother was only out for what he wanted…_

_He can deny it, but I know it was true!_

_Betrayed by my brother, that's when we parted…_

_Brother, you hurt me when I trusted you…_

_I'm a broken soul, who has to keep strong…_

_I haven't trusted anyone sense that day…_

_And so far it hasn't done me wrong…_

…_No matter how I wish it wasn't that way…"_ she continued, showing a tad of sorrow at the end.

"_Someone like me can't have friends…_

_I'm broken, I can't let anyone get in…_

_If I do, I'll be in pain when it ends…_

_Because my own brother backstabbed me to win_

_I'm the only one who can help me along_

_Only I can make sure I win the day_

_Or else others will do me wrong…_

…_But I wish it didn't have to be this way…"_ she sung, the visions fading to her own reflection.

"_Sometimes for the past I do long…_

_But how things are is how they'll stay…_

_After long ago I was done wrong…_

…_Now things can only be this way…"_ she sung softly, finishing her song.

"…Kage is the only one whose always been there for me…but I can't let myself get connected even to him," said Cyros, putting her guitar away. "If I want things to go my way, I'm the only one I can trust…" she said, curling up on the ground. "Everyone else is only out for themselves, you taught me that Pyrus…if I let anyone in they'll just hurt me like you did…the only way I'll get ahead is to become so strong no one can ever hurt me again…" she muttered bitterly, before letting herself fall to sleep.

Kage watched sadly from nearby, hiding behind a tree. He gave a sigh and shook his head slowly. "My princess…you let what happen hurt you so much…now you won't let anyone in and think only about yourself…" he whispered, worried eyes never leaving his friend. "All because you think that's how everyone else acts, you think you're going with how the world works…but I wish you could see Pyrus' side of the story…I think you'd be surprised…" he continued, before leaning against a tree and letting himself fall to sleep as well.

* * *

Ember slowly watched a group of slaves being put back into a large prison chamber, seeing a red dragon among them. He was large, similar in body shape to Ignitus but with a thinner snout, his horns curving similar to her own, a nasal horn also present. His coloration was orange, but a lighter shade, one of the places her skin color came from. She slowly slipped into the group, ending up in the cell with the other slaves while she had the chance. She watched the dragon from afar for a moment, making absolutely sure it was him. He looked beaten up and was skinny with beaten up horns, scars covering his body heavily.

"Is that him?" whispered Siria from Ember's necklace, watching.

Ember nodded lightly. "Yeah…it's really him…" she said, smiling.

"Well, go say hi," urged Siria. "I know you've wanted this for so long."

Ember nodded and slowly walked up behind him and tapped him lightly. "Hello…are you named Blaze?"

The dragon didn't turn. "Yeah…what do you want?" he asked, a hopeless tone about his voice.

"I came here to find you," responded Ember, carefully, not wanting to startle him. "My name is Ember…"

Blaze gasped in shock, turning and looking down at her, eyes locking on the necklace, before he slowly looked her over. "E-Ember? Is it really you?" he asked, his voice unsteady with emotion.

Tears welled up in the little dragoness' eyes and she nodded. "It's me dad," she said, a smile crossing her face.

Tears came instantly to the old dragon's eyes as well, and a smile to his face. He instantly hugged his daughter and nuzzled her, getting the same in turn. "Ember…I thought I'd never see you again…" he said, not caring about the tears running down his face. "All this time…you and your mother were all I thought about…I'd given up hope of ever seeing you again"

"I missed you too…" said Ember, crying harder than her father at being reunited.

The two hugged for a few minutes before Blaze finally looked down at her, now worried. "Ember…what are you doing here?" he asked, wondering what in the world his daughter was doing here.

Ember looked around, making sure the guards weren't paying attention. "I came to help stop Tyrania for good," she whispered. "Getting captured wasn't part of the plan…" she admitted, getting hot under the scales from embarrassment. "But that means my friends will be coming for me," she explained. "We need to get ready."

Blaze listened intently. "Why are they coming out here?" he asked. "What about the war?"

"Dad…the wars been over for 12 years," explained Ember, smiling lightly at what she was about to say. "…We won."

Blaze eyes widened at this. "The war…the war ended?" he asked in a confused tone. "When I was captured, we were losing, Cynder showed up and started capturing the Guardians. How did we turn the war around?"

Ember nodded. "It's a long story…but I'll tell you what I know…" she whispered, smiling up at her father. "It all started when Ignitus found the purple dragon was still alive…"

Ember continued to tell her father everything she knew. For once, being a Spyro fanatic really came in handy…

* * *

Well looks like things have both got better and worse, huh? Anyway, just to point out, I didn't refer to Cynder as Dark Cynder, as in her case, Dark Cynder is a split personality, she was still in control to some degree at that point. Anyway, it looks like Tyrania has taken advantage of things, hasn't she? I wonder how that will end out?

Also, I tried to make Cynder's dark side a bit more scary this time around and do a lot more damage, because the two times their evil sides showed up in Dawn Of The Dragon didn't do nearly enough. When the Dark Forms show up in this story, it won't be pretty. I intend to make them out to be how they were at the end of the Eternal Night; an extremely dangerious and destructive force.


	17. Breakout

Hey everyone! Time for the new chapter and I hope you like it! Last time, Ember and Blaze reunited and Cynder...well blew a bunch of stuff to kingdom come. Not we're heading to the climax of the Gargoyle arc! Enjoy!

* * *

**Breakout**

Ember finished telling her father about what he'd missed, it'd taken awhile but she finally finished. "Not long ago, a cheetah found me and mom and brought us back…"

Blaze looked down at his daughter, eyes wide in disbelief. "…It's amazing what can happen when you're gone…" he said, trying to wrap his head around it. "Hard to believe even Cynder was spared, not to mention that she's the Purple Dragon's mate…" he said, before noticing Ember 's face fell at the mention of Cynder and Spyro being mates. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, fatherly.

Ember looked up sadly. "I messed up really bad…I didn't know that they were together so I hit on Spyro and…I never saw how much I might be hurting them…" she said, Blaze able to see the pain in her eyes. "I really messed everything up, didn't I dad?" she asked, still having a miserable tone in her voice. She'd come to terms with _why_ she felt like this, not how to make herself feel better.

Blaze frowned and gave her a nuzzle. "Ember, it's alright…" he said. "A mistake is only a mistake if you do nothing about it. Did you apologize?"

Ember nodded. "Yeah…before I got caught by a Gargoyle…"

Blaze nodded. "Then you did something to correct it. If you've done all you can, leave the rest to mend on it's own."

Ember smiled lightly. "That's just like what a friend of mine told me…" she said, looking down at her necklace. "…Spyro and Cynder should be coming soon…along with an Earth Dragoness named Demi we met. And some Apes who turned good," she said, kind of wanting to change the subject.

Blaze blinked in confusion. "Wait, wait! Go back! Good Apes? When did that happen?"

"The night of the raid," explained Ember. "Their leader, Drake saw how nasty the Apes were and ran off with one of the eggs. He raised Demi, the egg, like his daughter. They're both really nice."

Blaze nodded slowly in disbelief. "Alright, suppose not all the Apes could be evil," he said, still trying to wrap his head around it. "Ok…I'll need some time to think that out…You said that Ignitus…passed away…so who is the new Fire Guardian?"

Ember couldn't help smiling slightly. "You're looking at her."

Blaze gasped in surprised. "Y-you're the new Fire Guardian?" he asked in an amazed tone. Ember nodded lightly. Blaze smiled proudly and hugged her. "My baby the Fire Guardian…I can't believe it…"

Ember smiled, hugging her father back. She then looked up at him. "We have a lot to catch up on, but we'll need to talk later, right now, we need to plan on how we can help them when they get here."

Blaze looked around, making sure the guards weren't watching. "Yeah…good idea," he said, giving it thought. "If we can find a way to get out of this cage when they start their attack, then we can help them out."

"I know just who can help us!" said Ember, looking down at her necklace. "Siria, think you can help?"

Siria's eyes lit up in the jewel surrounded by a fiery aura. "Yes, I do believe I can," she replied. "After all, I can pass through the bars easily."

Blaze blinked. "Who is that?" he asked, looking at the eyes in the necklace.

"Siria, she's a Phoenix," said Ember. "She's living in my necklace."

"Hello, Blaze," said Siria. "I'm glad to meet you. I hope I can be of assistance."

Blaze gave a weird look but slowly nodded. "Ok, I'll ask more about that later…But we've got another problem…" he said, before the cage door was opened. "We'll have to talk later, we've got to get to work."

Ember nodded hesitantly, but followed along. They were all lead towards the mines by Gargoyles. "Dad, what was the other problem?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Him," whispered Blaze, pointing to the Warden, who was perched on a podium overlooking the slaves. "He's just called the Warden. He's the oldest Gargoyle next to Empress Tyrania herself and her most trusted follower. He's the Gargoyle with the most freewill of them all, but he was made every bit as cruel as Tyrania is."

"Why is he such a problem?" Ember whispered, keeping her eyes on the Warden.

"That collar of his," replied Blaze. "None of us slaves can touch him so long as he has that."

Ember blinked. "Why?" she asked, not sure what the collar mean.

"When each of us is processed before they put us to work, there's a curse put on us," explained Blaze. "That curse causes anyone with it debilitating pain if they touch him or attack him in any way, his way of keeping us under control. No slave can beat him because of it. The guards have whips with a piece of his stone body in the tip that have the same effect if they hit us, but it'll only work so long as he's alive."

Ember got a small grin. "It won't work on me," she whispered back. "I snuck into the slave chamber to see you, thanks to Siria, I didn't get cursed."

Blaze smiled. "Good, but keep that under wraps," he whispered. "That'll be our secret weapon. If one of them whips you, act like you're in more pain than you really are, ok?"

Ember nodded, though she didn't want whipped anyway. "Ok, dad."

"Stop whispering!" yelled the Warden, having several Gargoyles whip Blaze in the back, causing to cry out in agony and fall to his knees. "Now move on! Get to work slackers!" he said, before returning to his watch and calling off his guards.

"You ok, dad?" whispered Ember, concerned for her father.

Blaze panted, getting back up and continuing on. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm used to it. It's just the curse," he said, leading her towards the mines. "Just work along with me, when the time is right, we'll make our move…are you sure you can take down the Warden? He's really strong…" he said, worried about his daughter.

"Dad, don't worry, I can do it," responded Ember, following her father closely.

They descended into the mines were slaves began tearing chunks of clay out of the walls, piling them into crates. Some used claws, other used pickaxes and mining shovels. As the Gargoyles watched them, Ember and Blaze began doing the same with their claws.

* * *

At the border of Gargoyle city later that night, Spyro snuck up with Cynder, Demi, Sparx, and Drake's clan. "Alright, it's heavily guarded," said Drake. "It won't be easy to get in."

"And we don't have any idea about the layout of the place…" said Cynder, thinking strategically. "It won't be easy to sneak in there through the front entrance."

"Well, let's take out the guards at the entrance first," said Spyro. "Then we can get a better look without getting spotted."

"We should also take that guard tower, it has a good view of the city and might have maps and stuff we can use," advised Cynder, pointing to a nearby tower over looking the area, Gargoyles watching from it.

Drake nodded and motioned for his Apes to attack. Two of them climbed a tree and swung on a vine, launching through the air and landing on the guard tower, slowly scaling the tower and grabbing the Gargoyles inside from behind, quickly putting them down with daggers to the head. Drake motioned for three more to rush forwards, sneaking up and pouncing on the Gargoyles guarding the entrance on the ground and smashing them to pieces with war hammers.

Sparx's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. "Ok, is it just me, or are Apes like a million times more competent on our side?"

Cynder nodded in agreement, watching the ease with which the Apes did their work. "Let's move," she said, leading the group slowly towards the guard tower, the dragons flying up while Drake and company climbed up. "Alright," she said, looking out at the city, the volcano clear on the other side. "That's where we need to get to," she continued. "Now how do we get there?"

Spyro looked around. The city was very medieval in it's appearance, like a bunch of small, middle age castles, and had canals throughout it. "What about those canals?" he asked, pointing them out.

"Well I'd say they're to drain rain water off the volcano when it rains so it doesn't flood the town," said Drake.

Spyro nodded. "They lead right up to the volcano side. Maybe we can sneak through them to get close enough to sneak in."

Drake smirked. "Good idea, Spyro," he said, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it's a good idea," Cynder replied. "Now if only we could alert Ember that we're coming," she said, looking a bit sad at the mention of Ember. "Then she could get the slaves ready for when we get there."

"Maybe Sparx could go," suggested Demi, softly. "He's small and fast, he could get there before we could and tell her. And I don't think most people would give much thought to a dragonfly."

"Wait? ME?" asked Sparx, startled. "You want me to go across a town infested with Gargoyles, _alone_, and sneak into a volcano of death?"

"It's just a suggestion…" said Demi in a meek voice, almost like a whimper.

"Way to go Sparx, you hurt her feelings," said Spyro in a chastising tone.

"You mean you want me to do this?" asked Sparx, shocked.

"Well…I'm worried you'd get hurt, but you are the best shot," said Spyro. "Plus, it's really important we get those slaves ready, it'll make this a lot easier to rescue them without anyone getting hurt…Plus you did a lot more dangerous stuff following me around all this time…"

"And you want to be a hero, right?" asked Cynder. "And you've got the best shot of getting there without being seen."

Sparx sighed. "I guess…but I better get a statue at the dragon temple for this!" he said. "If I'm putting my neck out here, then I want to be recognized for it!"

"I'll carve it myself," said Demi, seriously. "Alright?"

Sparx smirked. "Alright then," he said, flying off.

Spyro watched his brother fly off with a worried look on his face. "Worried about him?" asked Cynder, seeing Spyro's expression.

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, he's my brother after all."

"If he avoided getting himself killed with you all those times, I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine," said Cynder, putting a paw on Spyro's shoulder. "Now let's get going ourselves."

Spyro nodded, leading the way into the canals.

* * *

Sparx snuck through town carefully. "Well…I guess I do owe Spyro," he said, hiding behind a tree as a few Gargoyles passed. "After all, he's always saving my butt," he continued, flying along, ducking and hiding every so often to avoid being spotted. He looked around, seeing few Gargoyles. "Not a lot of these rock heads around, are there? That's weird…"

Sparx finally reached the door and perched on the back of a Gargoyle entering the volcano to get in, waiting a few moments before taking off again, heading further. "Now where's Pinky?" he asked, looking around.

* * *

Spyro and company snuck through the canals slowly, keeping watch for any Gargoyles. Occasionally a guard would pass, but they were able to easily evade him from their vantage point. "This is too easy," said Cynder, a suspicious tone in her voice. Sure enough, they soon came across a large grate blocking further progress, guarded by a pair of Warrior Gargoyles.

"Looks like you were right," said Drake. "How do we get past them?" he asked, keeping close watch to make sure they were unseen. "Without being detected, I mean."

Cynder blinked, touching her head and feeling something. "I think I've got an idea," she said. "Hang back, this should work."

Spyro nodded. "Be careful," he said, keeping watch.

Cynder took a deep breath and dove into her shadow, slinking under the water towards the Gargoyles before erupting out from behind them. She coated her claws in a purple poison and slashed them both. The two Gargoyles staggered, holding their heads, slumping down as if they couldn't hold themselves up right. Seeing this, Spyro and Drake charged forwards, Spyro freezing one solid with his ice breath and Drake slashing the other to pieces with his swords. Demi then shattered the one Spyro froze with an Earth Missile.

"Nice shot, Demi," said Spyro, smiling. He then turned to Cynder. "What was that?"

"I think another power that my dad taught me," said Cynder, looking at her claw as she made the purple poison appear again.

"Looked like a different type of poison," said Drake.

"A different type?" asked Cynder, cocking her head.

"Animals use many kinds of venoms, Cynder," explained Drake. "Your normal venom eats away what it touches, which is pretty deadly, this new venom seems to primarily disorientate it's target. I've seen both types used by animals in the jungle, difference here being yours is far more potent."

Cynder tried to wrap her head around it. "So my green poison can eat away at the target, while my purple venom messes with their heads?"

"That seems to be it, both are pretty useful," said Drake.

Cynder nodded, then realized they were wasting time. "Alright, I think we'll just have to go around this grate, I don't see anyway of getting through it, it's too tough to-"

Demi got a running start and slammed headfirst into the grate, denting it inwards. She backed up, getting another running start and doing it again. The third time she managed to knock the door off it's hinges and into the water a few feet away. "Alright, I'm through!" she called, peeking back through the door.

Cynder and Spyro looked on in wide-eyed shock. "Demi…that was amazing!" exclaimed Cynder, shaking her head to clear it after the shock she'd been given.

Spyro nodded. "How did you do that?"

"I didn't know how to use my element very well until now," said Demi, still keeping her meek voice despite the great strength she'd just shown. "So I just practiced my physical attacks all the time…by head butting trees…until they fell over…"

Spyro blinked. "Well, it's defiantly impressive. I don't know if an adult dragon could do that!"

Demi got hot under the scales at the compliments. "Thanks, Spyro…"

Drake smiled to Demi but then looked to the others. "We've got to get going, if Sparx gets to Ember, she'll be needing back up quickly."

* * *

Pyrus and Delilah snuck slowly through the fortress. "Where are we?" Pyrus asked.

"Their base," replied Delilah, simply.

"I know, but where is that?" replied Pyrus, wondering. "I was out cold when they brought me here."

"Oh, it's built into the side of a cliff," explained Delilah, in her natural rapid tone. "Not too far from where you were, don't worry, they haven't side tracked you too much."

Pyrus nodded slowly, trying to keep up with her speech. He suddenly stopped, hiding behind some crates as Rats passed by. "I guess there's a lot of these thieves, huh?"

Delilah nodded. "Yeah, LOTS," she replied. "They cause everyone around here a lot of grief too."

Pyrus gave a snarl at that. "I hate people who take advantage of others…is there anything we can do about it?"

Delilah shrugged. "Maybe…but aren't you in a hurry?"

"Kind of," replied Pyrus. "But I can't stand someone being hurt if I can help them."

Delilah gave a smirk. "A born hero, aren't you?" she asked, tapping his snout lightly. "Good, I like that in someone."

Pyrus got a little hot under the scales. "Are you hitting on me?"

Delilah chuckled. "No, just playing," she replied, as they began moving forwards. "I can tell someone else in the world is meant for you, and it's not me."

Pyrus blinked. "Really?"

Delilah nodded. "Yep, really…you're too young for me anyway," she replied, then pulled him behind a crate as a large, reptilian, hyena-like creature with a dark red fur covering it's head and back. It slowly moved it's head back and forth, sniffing the air with it's lizard-like tongue moving in and out, before it moved forwards.

Pyrus gulped. "What is that thing?" he whispered, shaking a little.

"That's a Death Hound," replied Delilah, her tone serious now. "They're bred for hunting big creatures, like well…you," she said, giving a nervous chuckle. "The Apes used them in the war with the dragons, at least from what I've heard. The Rats are using them like guard dogs to watch the halls…it'll be hard to get past them, we might have to fight," she whispered as the Death Hound came back and continued to look around.

Pyrus saw it slowly turn and look at the crates they were hiding around. "It found us!"

Delilah nodded before pouncing on the creature's back, slashing and biting it. It snarled, throwing her off and made a lunge at her, only for Pyrus to rush in, slamming into it with a Comet Dash and forcing it back. It growled and opened it's mouth wide, attempting to bite him, but Pyrus responded by sending a torrent of flames into it's open maul, causing it to yelp loudly in pain. Delilah let loose her fireballs, scorching it before lunging forwards and slashing it's head several times, then jumping off to avoid a counter attack. Pyrus dashed forwards, slamming his tail club down on it's head, finally killing it. Pyrus panted as it fell over on it's side and produced gems, though the body remained.

"Good job," said Delilah. "But we're going to need to hide the body," she said, pushing it behind some crates. "It's so much easier when monsters don't leave a body behind…"

Pyrus nodded, gagging "That makes two of us, now let's move on," he said, heading forwards with her.

* * *

Sparx rounded a corner, hiding behind a torch on the wall as he saw the slaves being lead back into the cell, spotting Ember among them. "There she is…" he said, waiting for the guards to retake their positions before flying over and slipping between the bars. "Hey, Pinky!" he called, waving.

Ember blinked, looking over and smiling. "Sparx!" she replied, watching him fly over. "Good to see you!" she said, smiling widely.

Sparx nodded. "Glad to see you're still in one piece. They didn't do anything too bad, did they?"

Ember shook her head. "I'm fine, don't worry," she said, several welts on her back saying otherwise, however.

"Ember," said Blaze, walking over. "Whose this?"

"Wow…is that your dad?" asked Sparx, looking up at Blaze as the full grown dragon towered over him.

"Yeah," said Ember, smiling. "This is Sparx, he's Spyro's brother."

Blaze blinked. "Brother?" he asked, in confusion.

"Yeah, long story short, Spyro's egg ended up with my parents and they adopted him," said Sparx.

"Ok, so I take it that means that Spyro and Cynder are coming?" asked Blaze, shaking off the confusion.

Sparx nodded. "Yeah, they sent me along to tell Ember," he said, keeping a respectful tone around the huge dragon.

"Good," said Ember. "Time for us to get to work."

"Wait, get to work?" asked Sparx, spinning around to look at her. "You were waiting for us?"

Ember nodded. "Yeah, I knew you guys would come…" she said, though with a little hesitation.

"But what about…you know, what happened before you got kidnapped?" asked Sparx.

"I got over that…" said Ember, not looking Sparx in the eyes so he wouldn't see the hurt in hers. "Now what matters is me getting to the Warden and beating him."

"Warden?" asked Sparx. "That doesn't sound good," he said, fear in his voice.

"He's not," said Blaze. "Are you sure you want to do this, Ember? It could be dangerous. We could just wait for your friends to get here."

Ember nodded. "I'm sure, dad…I hurt my friends a lot without knowing it…I want to help them to make up for that and getting rid of the Warden so the slaves are already free when they get here will do that."

Sparx looked sympathetic. "Ember…look, Cynder's not mad, in fact, she's worried about you."

Ember looked kind of unsure. "Really?"

Sparx nodded. "Well she was mad, but not at you. She was _really_ steamed at Cyros. Too bad little Miss Ice Queen got away," he said, shaking his head in disgust. "I'd have liked to have seen Cynder kick her tail all over the woods after what happened."

Ember nodded, giving a small smile. "Still…I've got to do this, ok?"

Blaze nodded. "I think everyone can understand that," he said, hugging her. "Just be safe, ok?"

Ember nuzzled her father. "I will, dad…I'm not a little girl anymore…" she said, then looked to her necklace. "Alright, Siria, it's time."

"Uh…is she talking to her necklace?" asked Sparx, confused.

"Just watch," said Blaze, calmly

Siria emerged from the necklace, stretching her wings. "Alright, Ember, I'm ready."

Sparx's jaw dropped. "Alright, since when is that bird thing from that forest temple living in your necklace?"

"Since the forest temple," said Ember, as if it was no big deal.

"Right…" muttered Sparx, blinking and looking up at Siria.

"Hello, I'm Siria, nice to meet you," said Siria to Sparx. "I know who you are, but we've not be properly introduced.

"Hi…" said Sparx, still confused. He then shook his head slowly in disbelief. "I should really be used to this by now…"

"Siria, please hurry," said Ember, knowing they had to hurry. "Spyro and Cynder are coming."

Siria nodded, understanding. She flew through the bars, sneaking up behind one of the Guards and stealing his keys, unlocking the door. "Come on, Ember," the Phoenix whispered.

"Coming, Sparx?" asked Ember, heading towards the door.

"Might as well," said Sparx. "I'm used to following dragons into life or death situations," he replied, following after her.

"Sparx," said Blaze. "Please keep an eye on my little girl, alright?"

Sparx looked back. "Sure, don't worry about it," he replied, taking it kind of seriously. "Hey, I always keep an eye on Spyro," he said, following Ember.

Ember snuck up behind one of the guards and blasted him with a torrent of fire, burning him. He swung around and slashed at her, only to be dodged and hit in the chest with a Comet Dash, knocking him against the wall. She then saw the other guard try to escape and struck him in the back with a Fire Bomb, blasting him to the ground. As the other tried to recover, Ember leapt forwards and slashed him repeatedly before sending another blast of fire into his face, finishing him off. The other one got back to it's feet and charged with a sword from behind. Ember swung around, opening her mouth and trying her Fire Breath. However, she instead emitted a red, cone shaped burst of heat from her mouth, superheating the air and not only badly burning the Gargoyle, but the concussive force of the superheated air slamming into his body blasted him to bits.

"Wow! Since when can you do that?" asked Sparx, zipping around the rubble and looking it over. He touched a piece of the shattered Gargoyle and pulled his hand back. "Ow! Hot! Hot!" he said, putting his finger in his mouth to cool it.

"I don't know!" replied Ember, blinking. She then smiled and got an excited expression. "But it was so cool!"

"Another Phoenix ability," said Siria. "Phoenix's have the ability to generate a massive amount of heat in addition to fire. There are other uses for that ability than just offensive."

"Since when can Pinky do that?" asked Sparx, still sucking on his burnt finger.

"Since I rekindled her inner flame with my own," explained Siria. "Her naturally learned fire caused her to get some of my abilities in addition to her own."

"Uh…" said Sparx, blinking in confusion. "What?"

"It's a long story," said Ember. "Let's just move on," she said, heading forwards, doing her best to remain unseen.

* * *

Cynder peeked up over the edge of the canal, seeing the door from her vantage point in the canals. She saw five Warrior Gargoyles posted at the entrance. "Only five guards, I think we can take them," she said, looking back. "But we need to do it quickly and quietly."

"Alright, on three, let's jump out and take them down," said Drake, getting nods. Everyone got ready to jump over the wall on his call. "One…two…three!" he shouted, leaping out with his apes, attacking two of them.

Cynder leapt out, charging her purple venom into her claws and slashing a Gargoyle with it, but was dodged. However, she countered attacked by swinging her poison coated tail around and cutting his chest before slashing him with purple venom coated claws. The Gargoyle shook his head, trying to clear it as the poison made his vision blur. Cynder took the opportunity to charge up and fire a Wind Sphere, blasting him in the chest and shattering him.

Spyro charged another, dodging a slash of his sword before forming a blade of ice on his tail, slashing him across the chest. Spyro dodged a second slash and blasted the Gargoyle in the face with a gout of fire, staggering him back. Spyro then finished him off by forming an Earth Flail, spinning it around and slamming it down on his head, shattering him to pieces.

Demi charged the remaining one, swinging around and smashing him in the side with a mace-like club at the tip. The Gargoyle counter attacked with a slash of his sword, only for her to catch his wrist in her mouth, using her strength and the momentum of his own slash to pull him off the ground and slam him into the ground with a good bit of force. As he got to his feet, she bashed him in the head with her tail. Before he could recover, she pounced on him and blew him to bits with a pointblank Earth Shot.

Drake lifted the Gargoyle he was facing off the ground after catching his wrist, slamming him down and then smashing both his fists into the Gargoyle's chest, shattering it. His fellow Apes jumped on the last Gargoyle, two of them disabling his arms with daggers to the shoulder while another used an ax to smack his legs out from under him. A final Ape brought a hammer down on his chest, shattering the Gargoyle to bits.

Cynder watched this display and looked to Spyro. "Sparx was right, the Apes are a lot more effective on our side than Malefor's," she said, noticing the teamwork that these Apes showed.

Spyro nodded. "It's always easier to fight for what's right," he said, smiling. He then looked to Demi. "Demi, that was awesome! Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Demi got hot under the scales at the praise. "Daddy couldn't teach me my element, so he taught me to fight hand to hand…well, I don't have hands so I use my teeth…you get the point…" she stated sheepishly.

Cynder smiled. "Well you're good at it," she said in a reassuring tone.

Drake came over. "Alright, let's head in and help out Ember and the slaves. Then we'll put Tyrania down, once and for all," he said, leading the group in.

* * *

Ember blew another Gargoyle apart with her heat breath, having taken out several on the way here before reaching the Warden's chambers. "Hey Pinky," said Sparx. "Why are you doing this alone?" he asked. "Some of those slaves looked pretty tough, especially your dad."

"They can't hurt the Warden," said Ember.

"Why?" asked Sparx, confused. "They look strong enough."

Ember shook her head. "No, they _really_ can't hurt him. He put a curse on them so touching him hurts them so long as he has that gold collar," she replied. "I snuck in here with Siria's help before I got cursed, so I can hurt him."

Sparx sighed. "What is it with you dragons and being the only one who can do something important?"

Ember shrugged. "Don't know," she replied. "Just lucky I guess."

"Lucky? Lucky would be living peacefully with the Llama people that worship me and Spyro!" replied Sparx. "Stuff like this is pretty unlucky in my opinion!"

"Well if I beat that nasty Warden, it'll break the curse on my dad and the others," explained Ember. "And they can help us."

Sparx nodded with a sigh. "Alright, let's go kick blockhead's butt," he said. "Well, you kick his butt, I'll just watch and say witty one-liners."

Ember nodded, slowly opening the door a crack to find the Warden with a Cheetah slave in front of him. The Warden's room was well furnished, like a nobleman's home, and had a small hole in the wall facing the slave mines.

"So, you think you can steal food from my table, huh?" asked the Warden, grabbing the Cheetah's shoulder and causing him to scream in agony, where he touched smoking. The Warden let him go and let the pained cheetah sink to his knees, panting in pain.

"N-no…I didn't," responded the cheetah, holding his shoulder in agony. "You called me in here and it was gone when I came in."

The Warden punched the poor Cheetah into the wall. "If I say you stole my food, you did," he replied, grabbing the cheetah by the throat and pinning him against the wall, chuckling as the poor creature writhed in agony. "Got it?" he asked, glaring the Cheetah in the eye.

Ember had enough of this and blew the door down with a Fire Bomb, getting the Warden's attention. "Leave him alone!" yelled Ember, snarling, tail lashing back and forth in furry. "Let the Cheetah go! Now!" she snarled, smoke rising from her nose.

"Oh yeah, forgot you had a short fuse with Cheetahs getting hurt," said Sparx, watching this and slowly getting out of the way.

The Warden chuckled. "What are you going to do, little dragoness?" he asked, smirking. "No one can touch me, you should know that by now. Get back in the cage and mind your own business. I'll whip you for this later. I'm in a bad mood and need to unwind."

Ember snarled, fire in her eyes. "I said leave him alone!" she shouted, charging forwards and engulfing herself in a Comet Dash.

The Warden, with a chuckle, dropped the Cheetah and turned. "Go ahead, you'll only hurt yourself," he stated, before the Comet Dash hit him with a good bit more force than he expected, staggering him back several feet from the impact. The Warden dusted himself off and chuckled. "See, what did I-" he started, then gasped when he noticed Ember was perfectly fine. "What? T-That's not possible!" he exclaimed. "No slave can touch me and not feel pain!"

Ember snarled. "That's because I was never cursed, you big bully!" she yelled. She looked to the Cheetah. "Siria, will you please heal him? I'm going to teach the Warden a lesson!"

Siria emerged from the necklace. "Yes. Please be careful, Ember," she said and flew over, tending to the Cheetah's wounds.

"A Phoenix? But…But that's impossible! They're extinct!" yelled the Warden, eyes wide with shock.

"Not for long," snarled Ember. "Now, let's see how tough you are when you're picking on someone who can fight back!" she growled, charging forwards and slamming full force into the Warden with a Comet Dash before he could recover from his shock, plowing him through wall facing the slave mines, sending both into a free fall to the floor below, Ember and him fighting momentarily to stay on top, Ember manage to latch onto his back and use him to break her fall, slamming into the mine floor with a sizable impact.

The Warden was quickly back to his feet, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her off. "Insect! You may not be afflicted by the curse, but if you think one child can defeat me, you're sadly mistaken!" he said, kicking her back.

Ember snarled, getting back to her feet. "I'm going try…" she replied, sending a blast of heat at the powerful Gargoyle. The Warden marched forwards, barely sustaining any damage. He tried to punch her when he reached her, only for Ember to dodge and blast him in the chest with a Fire Bomb, forcing him back. The Warden replied by swatting her with his arm, knocking him across the area and into a wall. Ember groaned, managing to get up as he took flight.

"Take this!" the sadistic Gargoyle yelled, forming a sphere of black energy in his hand and throwing it at her. Ember managed to dodge but was buffeted by an explosion when it collided with the wall.

Ember managed to catch herself in midair and start flying just in time for the Warden to throw another dark energy blast at her. Ember replied with a Fire Bomb, the two projectiles colliding in a large explosion. Ember flew through the resulting smoke and slammed into the huge Gargoyle's chest with a Comet Dash, driving him back. She then slashed him repeatedly, barely able to scratch his armored hide. He replied by grabbing her by the neck and kneeing her in the stomach before throwing her hard to the ground.

"Hey Pinky, are you ok?" asked Sparx, flying down next to her.

Ember coughed and nodded. "Yeah…" she said, panting to catch her breath. "He's tougher than he looks."

"And he looked really tough to start with! Did you see that hole he blew in the wall! It was huge!" said Sparx, not liking where this was going.

Ember the realized something. "Sparx, that's it!" she said, taking off.

"You're welcome," said Sparx proudly, before blinking. "What did I say?"

Ember breathed fire on the Warden. "Bet you can't catch me!" she shouted, flying towards the mines.

The Warden snarled. "Come back here you little brat!" he roared, flying after her, enraged.

The Warden flew into the mining chamber, only to suddenly find a pickax driven into his chest, courtesy of Ember. As the massive Gargoyle recoiled in pain, Sparx flew in and blinked. "How did you get 'hit him in the chest with a pickax' from me saying he blew a hole in the wall?"

"He's made out of the same stuff we were mining out of the wall," said Ember, smiling.

Sparx blinked and shrugged. "Whatever, you hurt him."

"Yeah, but it's not over," said Ember, watching the Warden pull the pickax out of himself and throw it at her. She dodged and blasted him in the wound with fire, driving him back. She quickly charged and slashed his chest wound repeatedly, tearing away at the weak spot.

The Warden suddenly grabbed her by the neck, snarling in her face and throwing her out of the mine chamber and into the wall on the other side. Ember groaned, opening her eyes to see the Warden flying right at her. She let out a scream and managed to dodge right as he punched where her head had been moments before, smashing a huge hole clear through the wall. As he turned around, she fired a Fire Bomb into his chest, driving him back through the hole.

Blaze watched the Warden stagger through the hole in the wall before Ember plowed him backwards with a Comet Dash. "See? I told you!" he said to the other slaves. The slaves gasped in surprise as the Warden was visibly hurt by Ember.

Ember slashed away at the Warden's chest, only to be punched off hard in the jaw. As she got to her feet, he sent her flying again with a week dark energy ball. "I've had enough of these games!" bellowed the Warden, eyes glowing brightly with anger. "I'm not putting you in the cage anymore! I'm putting you in the grave!" he roared, snarling with fury.

"Ember! Get up!" yelled Blaze. He then sent a stream of fire into the Warden, but then cried out in agony and fell to the ground. Several Gargoyles ran in and prepared their whips to keep the other slaves back, but it didn't stop them from cheering Ember on.

"Forgot about your curse?" asked the Warden, charging a large black energy ball in his hands. "I'll deal with you as soon as I finish this."

Sparx watched, nervously biting his fingernails. "This isn't good…" He looked at the Warden's collar, getting a sly smirk.

Ember managed to get to her feet, seeing the energy ball. She began superheating the air around her, causing it to distort. The ball was thrown and a large explosion went off. But when the dust cleared, Ember was only slightly hurt, spared the majority of the attack as the superheated air dissipated. "You'll have to do a lot better than that!" she yelled, preparing to continue the fight.

The Warden snarled and flew forwards, blocking a stream of flames with his arms and grabbing her by the throat, slamming her into the wall. The cheers from the slaves continued. "Shut up!" he bellowed, enraged. "Once I'm done with her! I'll make sure to punish each and every one of you!" he roared. "I'm the lord down here! No one can touch me! Not so long as I have this!" he yelled, going to touch his collar, only to touch his own rocky neck. "What?" he asked, looking down. "Where did it go?"

"Hey ugly!" yelled Sparx, floating near the slave's cage, holding the collar tauntingly.

The Warden gasped, looking down at his neck, then back to the collar in Sparx's hands. "But when did you…"

"I grabbed it when you were charging up that black energy thingy, whatever you call it," said Sparx, giving a smile. "This thing is pretty important, ain't it?" he asked, looking it over. "I sure hope I don't…Oops…" he said sarcastically, dropping it in front of Blaze. "Clumsy me…" he said with a smirk.

Blaze snarled at the Warden, picking up his paw and slamming it down on the collar, shattering it to pieces. He slowly rose to his feet, giving the Warden a hateful glare, smoke pouring out of his nose. Blaze slowly backed up, the other slaves getting out of the furious dragon's way.

The Warden gulped nervously as he watched his hold on the slaves being literally shattered right in front of him. "Now Blaze, you k-know I was j-just doing my j-j-job!" he pleaded desperately, trembling and watching fearfully as Blaze scratched the ground and took a running position. "Uh oh…" he muttered, Blaze running forwards, smashing the cage door off it's hinges and tossing Gargoyles in all directions in an unstoppable charge, ignoring the whips pelting his hide. Suddenly, the Warden to cried out in pain and released Ember, staggering back and clutching his hand smoking hand in pain, Ember surrounded by superheated air. Blaze then culminated his charge by smacking the Warden in the face with his tail, throwing him across the room into a wall. Blaze let loose a Fire Bomb, blowing the Warden to the ground once more.

"That's for laying your dirty claws on my daughter!" yelled Blaze, smoke pouring out of his nose and venom in his voice. He then nuzzled Ember. "Are you ok?"

Ember nodded, a little bruised up with some cuts and bruises, but able to sand pretty well. "I'm ok," she replied, before noticing the Warden trying to sneak away. "Where do you think you're going?" she yelled, giving him a similar glare to her father.

The Warden took off, trying to escape deeper into the mine, only for a stone door to slam in his face. He slowly looked over to see Sparx had pushed the lever controlling the door down. "Who said all I do is float next to a dragon's head the whole time?" asked Sparx, smiling.

"Um…guards!" called the Warden, only to see the rest of the slaves had taken them out using whatever they could get their hands on. The Warden backed up from the slaves, trembling in fear. "Stay back!" he yelled. "I mean it! Don't touch me!" he yelled, backing up more and more as the slaves surrounded him, the Cheetah he'd been torturing previously walking forwards with a pickax in hand.

* * *

Cynder blew a Gargoyle up with a blast of her Wind Sphere while Spyro froze several in place and shattered them with his Earth Shot. Drake punched a Warrior Gargoyle back and kneeled down, letting Demi jump off his back and plow it into the ground with a powerful headbutt. She then bit it's shoulder and swung it overhead, slamming it into the ground and finishing it off by slamming her tail mace down on it's chest and shattering it.

"Alright," said Spyro. "The slave mines should be right up there," he said, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway they were in. Before they could advance, the wall next to it exploded in a surge of fire, the Warden being blasted through the wall, a large scorch mark on his chest and having been badly beaten up. "What was that?" he asked, surprised.

Sparx flew over to Spyro and Cynder. "Hey buddy, you're late to the party."

"What are we late for?" asked Spyro, blinking in suprise. "I wasn't expecting to see a Gargoyle getting blasted through a wall…"

"Well a boss battle, Ember and me freeing the slaves from a curse, and then the slaves beating the stuffing out of that guy," said Sparx, pointing over his shoulder at the Warden, who now had several pickaxes sticking out of his back and chest, his wings torn to shreds. "Especially Ember's seriously ticked off daddy."

The Warden groaned, getting back to his feet as Blaze lead the slaves out of the mines. "Stay back!" yelled the Warden, backing away until he was against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. Realizing he had no way out, he started forming an energy ball in his hands. "Stay back! I mean it!" he yelled, surging more and more energy into it. He looked back and forth at the slaved like a cornered animal.

Ember flew forwards. "No, I'm not letting a nasty person like you hurt anyone ever again!" she said, her eyes lighting up blue as a fiery azure aura surrounded her. Blue fire erupted into her mouth, followed by her letting loose a massive stream of blue flames and cutting off the Warden before he could fire his attack. The stream struck his chest wound, engulfing him in an explosion of blue fire. As the attack ended, all that was left of the evil Warden was a scorched statue which crumbled into a pile of lifeless hunks of stone.

Spyro and Cynder's jaws dropped. "What was that?" asked Spyro, disbelief in his voice.

"Oh yeah, that bird thing from the ruins gave Ember some weird powers. You'll have to ask her, I know about as much as you do," said Sparx.

The Pink Dragoness panted heavily as the aura faded,. When she saw Spyro and Cynder running over, she suddenly looked down. "Hey guys…" she replied, not sounding like one who'd just won a major victory.

Cynder and Spyro were surprised and looked at each other, then back to her. "Ember…what's wrong?" asked Cynder with a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Ember, surprised that they weren't mad. "I…I…I'm so sorry I kept hitting on Spyro…I should've picked up on the hints and stopped…but I didn't…" she said, sorrowfully. "I think a part of me did but I just didn't listen to it…That's not what a Fire Guardian is supposed to do…I'm your friend and I hurt you when you were trying to protect me…I feel pretty rotten…"

Spyro looked sympathetic and put a paw on her shoulder. "Ember…I know you messed up, but you didn't mean to," he said. "And we forgive you, I promise," he continued. "No hard feelings at all."

Ember looked up, her eyes full of sorrow. "Really?…I just never thought how you felt…and I…"

Cynder nodded. "Ember, I'm just as guilty as you are…" she said. "If I'd told you in the first place, back at the temple before all this mess with Deadlock started, then it'd have saved us all a lot of grief," she continued, her own guilt clear in her face. "It'd have hurt…but I hurt you more by not telling you in the first place…"

Spyro nodded in agreement. "She's right, if we had, then we'd have had this under the bridge before this ever started…it's all of our faults, not just yours…"

Ember gave it some thought and nodded slowly. "…Thanks…it's just…I'm trying so hard to be a good Guardian…I guess I just take my mistakes so hard because I'm trying so hard at that…"

Spyro smiled. "I know how it feels…when someone expects a lot of you, it's really hard to think you let them down…" he explained. "When I came face-to-face with Dark Cynder for the first time…I got so afraid that I couldn't do anything…Ignitus had to fight to protect me and got captured…I blamed myself and felt so awful…"

"And I know what it feels like to hurt someone when you didn't mean to and still feel terrible about it," said Cynder. "That's how I felt about the first 12 years of my life…but Ember, the most important thing is letting yourself become a better person because of it. You've got to recover and get back up again…that's all there is to it."

Ember listened intently. "…I think I understand…" she said, looking up at them. "I messed up…but I'll learn from it…" she said. "…I promise, I'll try harder to understand how others are feeling and I won't make the same mistake again…" she continued, then smiled slightly. "But I won't let it change me too much, ok?"

Cynder smiled and nodded. "Don't change, you're fine as you are…minus the flirting, of course."

Spyro nodded, glad that was sorted out. "Now that we've covered that…what just happened?" he asked, pointing to the scorched pile of rocks that used to be the Warden.

Ember got hot under the scales, and looked a little sheepishly. "Well I was sort of waiting for you guys so we could break out…so I did…and I got into a huge fight…" she said, bruised up heavily. "And the firebird from the temple has been living in my necklace the whole time. She's really nice."

Spyro blinked. "What was that last part again?"

"The firebird from the temple, she went into my necklace and has been with us the whole time," said Ember, looking around. "Siria! Where are you?".

The Phoenix flew down and landed with the group. "Here I am, Ember," she said. "I'm sorry, I healed that Cheetah and lost track of you in the fight and all the panic," she explained. "You and the Warden certainly got all over the place."

Ember nodded. "It's alright," she said. "Guys, this is Siria," she said. "Queen of the Phoenixes. Siria, this is Spyro, Cynder, Demi, and Drake."

"…Glad to meet you…" said Cynder, looking on in confusion. "Uh…Ember, can you start from the beginning and fill us in?"

Ember rubbed her head nervously. "Yeah…that's probably a good idea…"

Ember then began explaining everything. It was a long story…

* * *

Well it looks like Ember's a lot tougher when she's protecting her dad, huh? And vice verse, of course. Anyway, see you next time!


	18. Infiltration

Hey guys! Next chapter is here! Today, both our groups infiltrate the lairs of their villains. Here we go!

* * *

**Infiltration**

Delilah bit another Death Hound on the neck, distracting it enough for Pyrus to blast it in the face with fire. While it staggered back, Delilah tackled it, driving it out of a window and falling off the mountain. "Good job," said the Kitsune, smiling to her friend.

Pyrus smiled. "Thanks," he replied. "So…where did you come from?"

"Somewhere far away," said Delilah, leading him down another hallway.

"I know, but where is that?" asked Pyrus with a sigh.

"The spirit world," responded Delilah, smiling lightly. "It's like a place were everyone are all spirits, Kitsunes come from there," she continued. "But it's not where dead people go when they die, that's a different place. Anyway it's kind of boring because nothing bad happens there. But then again nothing really good happens there either, it's always sorta neutral. Most people are happy all the time, so there's really nothing good to do there, so we come here to have some fun, understand?" she asked, back to her normally rapid speech.

"Uh…" muttered Pyrus, a bewildered look on his face. "I think that sounds…interesting."

Delilah nodded, smiling cheerfully, before the sound of footsteps came from the hallway ahead. She grabbed Pyrus by her tails and pulled him behind some crates as some Rats passed, talking to each other. "Sorry," whispered Delilah, letting him go. "The Rats are easy to avoid, it's those Death Hounds we got to watch out for…"

Pyrus nodded, dusting himself off as he got up. "How exactly are we going to stop these thieves though?"

"Oh, we're going to take out Kaze and those Weasel's of his," stated Delilah simply, looking back.

"Oh…wait, what?" shouted Pyrus, fear covering his face. "But they're the toughest guys in the entire place!"

"That's why we need to kick his butt, duh!" replied Delilah, rolling her eyes. "There's an old expression that goes "cut the head off the snake, the body falls". Take Kaze out of the picture, the only thing holding these creeps together goes with him."

Pyrus looked down at his feet nervously. "But…how will we do that?"

Delilah frowned. "Still scared from before?" she asked, getting a nod. "Can't blame you, but we take down those minions of his first and I'm sure he'll be easier to take out."

Pyrus nodded, but still pawed the ground nervously. "But how will we keep up with him?"

"Now that I know he can do that, I'll do my best to help you," said Delilah. "But if you want to stop these thieves from hurting people, taking out Kaze is the only option…we can turn back and get out of here if you really want to…" she said, looking back at him. "If you're too afraid of Kaze, we can just leave."

Pyrus gave it some thought and shook his head "…Kaze is hurting people…we can't just let him get away with that," he said. "We'll try and stop him, but we'll get out of there if we can't…"

"Yeah, that's the smart way," said Delilah, giving an approving nod. "Let's continue on, and hurry. It's only a matter of time before they realize you escaped, and I'd rather have already taken out Kaze by then," she said, moving forwards and leading the way.

* * *

"So then I blew the Warden up and then you were there," said Ember, panting lightly.

"Well that was a long story…" said Sparx, laying on Spyro's back with a rather bored look on his face.

Spyro nodded. "Alright. I think I understand," he replied, looking to Cynder, who nodded as well.

"My, a Phoenix," said Drake in an amazed tone, looking over Siria. "Here I was starting to think they were just a myth…no offense."

"None taken," replied the firebird with a small chuckle. "After all, it is hard not to fade into myth after being extinct for several thousand years," she explained, a nostalgic tone to her voice.

"For a queen, you aren't too…queen-like," said Sparx, looking at her.

"I'm aware of that," said Siria, smiling lightly. "I made a token effort to not put myself above those I ruled. A good leader shouldn't do that. Tyrania did all this to see herself viewed as a god, I have no intention of doing the same."

"That's very noble of you," said Drake. "I wish more leaders felt the same."

"Agreed…but not that we're caught up, we'd best head on forwards," said Cynder, looking at the door ahead. "No telling what she's going to do when she finds out about this…"

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, we've got to stop Tyrania once and for all. If we don't, she'll just do this all over again."

"The freed slaves will hold the position here and make sure we're not attacked from behind," said Blaze, walking over. "I'll come with you, I'm not leaving my little girl's side if I can help it…she might be the Fire Guardian, but she's still my only child," he said, nuzzling his daughter.

Ember nuzzled him back. "I'd like that, dad…I missed you a lot."

"_Just like me and dad," _though Cynder as she smiled warmly, watching the reunited father and daughter have their moment. She then let Blaze lead the way through the tunnels towards the upper part of the volcano.

* * *

General Grendel waited at the opening to Serpent's Edge, watching the storm that had blown up outside with an emotionless face. "Well?" he asked as a Naga slithered up beside him, the General not even looking in his direction.

"The message was delivered," reported the Naga, bowing respectfully behind the General. "The Warden did exactly as you requested. Tyrania has began an invasion of the Dragon Realms as we speak."

Grendel gave a sly smirk. "Perfect…" he sneered, lightning lighting up his face. "And any word yet from Iron Canyon?"

"They've located the temple, General Grendel," reported the Naga. "But it has yet to be fully uncovered."

Grendel nodded. "Good work, soldier," he stated, but still didn't even look in the Naga's direction. "What of Spyro and Cynder?"

"They're somewhere in the Gargoyle territories. When I left, that was all I was aware of. I did hear from a reliable source, however, that Pyrus has been captured by Boss Kaze. I was on my way to report that to Deadlock but I saw you first. I'll go tell her now," reported the Naga, turning to head off to do that

Grendel's smile turned to a glare. "No…don't," he said, looking at the Naga for the first time. "I will do that personally, I am her head general after all," he continued, maintaining a sly tone of voice. He took a brown bag out of his armor and tossed it to the Naga. "Your payment. There's an extra ten gold coins in the information on our prince," he stated, turning back around to face the storm.

The Naga bowed honorably. "Yes, General Grendel, thank you."

"No…thank you," whispered Grendel as the Naga slithered off, a sly grin crossing the Naga General's face as lightning flashed through the sky.

* * *

Delilah blasted a Death Hound back with her fire, allowing Pyrus to let loose a torrent of fire into it's face. Delilah finished it off by jumping on it and slashing it several times. "Alright, let's get this body out of here," said Delilah, pushing the body into a closet with Pyrus' help. "Alright, we've got to keep going up," she explained. "Kaze and his band are on the top floor, we should hurry."

"Delilah," said Pyrus, looking at her curiously. "How do you know so much about this place?"

Delilah looked back with a smirk. "I took a look around disguised as a Rat before freeing you."

"Oh…" said Pyrus, following. "You're sure smart…"

Delilah smiled. "Thanks, but I'm not that smart. I'm just a lot older than I look," she said, before Pyrus could ask, she covered his mouth with her tail. "Not polite to ask a girl how old they are," she said with a snicker before heading on.

Pyrus blinked in confusion. "Ok…I wasn't going to ask that…" he said under his breath following.

* * *

Demi charged forwards, slamming her head into a large stone door marked with Gargoyle pictures and with gold trim. She did it once again, smashing the door inwards and shattering it. "Good job, Demi!" said Spyro, running over to the shy dragoness.

"Since when can she do that?" exclaimed Sparx, a bewildered look crossing his face. "I thought she was the shy one!"

"She's always been able to do that," said Cynder, smiling slightly. "You just didn't see her fight."

Sparx sighed. "Well, at least that's easy to explain," he said lowering his head tiredly. "Not like with Pinky's new powers."

"Alright," said Siria, looking the group over. "Tyrania's castle is heavily guarded, since it's the only safe way to reach her…"

"Is she in the castle?" asked Ember, eyes focused on Siria.

Siria shook her head. "No, she spends most of the time in her cloud above it."

"Then why does she even HAVE a castle?" asked Sparx, scratching his head. "Is that just some mandatory bad guy thing? Having an evil castle full of monstrous henchmen that will try to kill us?"

"It's for show," said Siria. "She uses it to impress her allies. Even before she betrayed her own kind, Tyrania was always known for her vanity so it's little surprise. As I said, Tyrania's goal is to be seen as a god, the castle is her temple."

"So she has an ominous castle just to impress her friends?" asked Sparx, rubbing his head in confusion. "At least the other big bads we've busted lived in their castle or evil lair…" he commented. "Made them pretty easy to find actually…" he continued, looking to Spyro, who nodded in response.

"As I was saying," said Siria, getting things back on track. "Tyrania's palace is home to her private guard; Elite Gargoyles that are finely crafted and much stronger than normal. The Warden is still the strongest one she ever made, but these ones are still far more powerful than the ones you've fought up until now."

"We'll beat them," said Spyro in a determined tone. "I've never given up before, I'm not doing that now."

Ember nodded. "I beat the Warden by myself, this'll be a piece of cake now that we're together again," she said, confidence in her voice. "Well…Sparx and the slaves helped…but it feels good to do something worthwhile…"

Cynder smiled, looking to Spyro. "I guess beating the Warden helped her with her self-confidence."

Spyro nodded warmly. "Yeah, can't blame her. I felt the same way when me and Ignitus freed the temple."

"I'll do whatever I can," said Demi, smiling shyly.

Drake patted Demi on the back tenderly. "And I'll be right there with you…let's go," he said, heading forwards, drawing his swords, ready for battle.

* * *

Tyrania flew over her lair, massive body still behind the thick clouds over the volcano. "Oh Warden, I hoped you'd do better than that," she said, shaking her head slowly. "I guess that's what I get for making you a coward, but I couldn't have you brave enough to rise up against me! That'd be no fun!" she stated with a chuckle. "Well they've reached the castle now, oh how wonderful!" she said, . "It's been so very long since I've got to watch my greatest creations have their fun! I do hope there's plenty of screaming!" she stated, laughing sadistically as her eyes lit up once more. "I need to keep them busy after all, at least until my children have made it to the Dragon Realms."

As the group walked into a new room, one decorated with pictures of all sorts of Gargoyles. "So, which of these ugly blockheads is Tyrania?" asked Sparx, zipping around and looking at the pictures. The castle was made of grey stone, with a blood red carpet on the floor, purple cloth and gold decorating the walls along with the previously mentioned pictures.

"None of them," replied Siria, looking them over carefully.

"I thought Tyrania was vain," said Cynder, cocking her head in confusion. "So why no self portraits."

"Tyrania is a self-absorbed monster, that's for certain, but she knows her visage isn't exactly…charming," said Siria, a hint of bitterness in her voice as she described Tyrania. "That's one of the reasons she spends most of her time in her cloud and surrounds herself only by her own creations who loyally worship her as their god queen."

Before anyone could ask further questions, a group of Gargoyle Drones charged into the room, though these wore gold tinted armor. They were followed by a different variety of Gargoyle, this one was massive, about a head taller than a Warrior, and wore blue and gold armor, wielding a war club. The huge Gargoyle let out a huge roar and stomped forwards.

"That's an Elite?" asked Spyro, eyes wide with surprise.

Siria nodded. "That he is, be careful!" she advised, returning to Ember's necklace.

Drake and his Apes attacked the normal Gargoyles to permit the dragons to deal with the Elite. Spyro flew forwards, breathing fire at the Elite Gargoyle, only for it to block with his club and counter by slashing at him with his claws, only barely missing. Cynder took her turn, flying forwards and blasting the Gargoyle with poison before being smacked back into a wall by his club. Ember flew in, dodging a smash of his club and blasting him in the face with a torrent of flames before being punched away. Demi charged, slamming her head full force into his chest, but was punched back.

"This isn't working," said Cynder, watching Blaze blast the Gargoyle back with fire. His fire barely slowed the Gargoyle down and he was driven back by the Elite's club.

"I can't move in here," Blaze stated, nearly as wide as the hallway itself. He backed up into the room before and started fighting Drones.

"Well, let's work together," said Ember, getting back to her feet.

Demi nodded. "Attacking one at a time really isn't working…"

Spyro flew up with a nod, breathing a stream of ice into the ground in front of the Gargoyle Demi took advantage, charging forwards and slamming her head full speed into the Elite's chest, denting it's armor. Ember flew around and did a Comet Dash on the back of his knees at the same time. The combination attack along with the ice sent the Gargoyle crashing to the floor. He started to rise, smashing both away from him. Cynder jumped up and drove her poison coated tail into his chest, managing to punch through the dented armor. She was bashed off with his club, but Spyro used a Comet Dash into the Elite's wounded chest, driving him back to the ground as he tried to rise. Ember recovered and let loose a burst of her Heat Breath while Demi fired her Earth Shot, both attacks striking the Elite in the chest.

Drake picked up two Drones and smashed them together with such force that they shattered to pieces. Blaze finished off a Drone by headbutting it and turned to look at Drake, who was now back to back with him. "Look out!" yelled Drake, swinging his sword over Blaze's head, bisecting a pair of ax wielding Drones that had flown at Blaze's head.

"Thanks…behind you!" shouted Blaze, Drake ducking and allowing him to blow a jumping, sword wielding Drone to pieces.

"Thanks," replied Drake, smiling.

Blaze nodded slowly. "…No offense but I never thought an Ape would be my comrade in battle…it's a little strange…"

Drake nodded. "I know, but at least your dad didn't tell you from the day you could talk that Dragons were a bunch of scaly monsters. I didn't listen, I was actually kind of fascinated by you guys," he said, leaping over Blaze and cleaving a Drone in half that was sneaking up on Blaze. "Animals that could breath all sorts of different elements…it was an amazing idea…maybe that's why the night of the raid I felt so guilty when I smashed the only egg I did…after that, I lost all my heart for fighting for Malefor…"

Blaze nodded slowly…then shot a Fire Bomb over Drake's head, blowing up about three Drones who were flying for Drake. "To be honest…we Dragons originally thought you Apes were primitive brutes…no offense…" he said, rather awkwardly. "I see that's clearly not the case now…"

"None taken," said Drake, not a hint of bitterness in his voice as he took out a dagger and threw it over Blaze's shoulder, nailing an incoming Gargoyle to a wall. "Though I wouldn't say primitive brutes…I'd say power hungry monsters…" he stated, driving his swords backwards and catching a Warrior Gargoyle in the stomach, lifting it up and letting Blaze blast it with his flames to finish it. "Me and my clan aren't like that, that's why we're out here…"

Blaze nodded slowly, giving a small smile. "Well…I'm glad you're on my side."

Drake smirked. "Same here, now let's make these rockheads be afraid we're not on there's," he said, turning to see the rest of the Apes finish off the Drones while Demi slammed full force into the Elite's damaged chest. The Elite roared in pain and collapsed, falling to the ground and shattering. "Good job," Drake said, heading over and petting Demi's head lightly.

"You too, sweetheart," said Blaze, nuzzling Ember proudly.

Spyro and the girls shattered gems from the defeated Gargoyles before turning to the others. "Yeah, that was a seriously tough Gargoyle though," replied Spyro, letting the gems restore his energy.

Cynder nodded. "They're not called Elites for nothing, that's for sure, but a Gargoyle is a Gargoyle," she said. "Elite or not, these ones still get confused when multiple people attack them at once."

"That's the problem with giving them limited sentience," said Siria, not emerging from the necklace. "They aren't very smart."

"Come, on, let's go," said Spyro, leading on.

* * *

Pyrus blasted several Rats back with a torrent of flames as Delilah attacked another group with her fox fire. "I think they figured out we're here!" shouted Pyrus, blasting the Rats with a Fire Bomb and knocking them back before smashing into them with a Comet Dash.

Delilah nodded, attacking them with her fire. "Yeah, it happens when you break into a place," she said, using an illusion to trick several into attacking one another before finishing them off with a bombardment of her fire. "Trust me…"

"Isn't there an easier way?" asked Pyrus, giving a small confused look at Delilah's statement. He turned and blasted the Rats with another barrage of flames, killing them. "I don't like this…"

"Well I can just faze through the ceiling, but the winds outside are too strong for you to fly in," said Delilah.

Pyrus looked at the ceiling. "Could I just blast a hole through it?"

Delilah looked up at it. "Probably, not subtitle though. But it's faster."

Pyrus nodded, launching a Fire Bomb and hitting it, blowing a hole in it before flying upwards through it, Delilah following.

"Check," said Kaze, moving his queen to check Blaster's king in a chess game, though he had a rather distracted look on his face. Their room was well furnished and fancy, having fine, red fabrics and a large picture of Kaze over a very ornately designed fireplace.

"Checkmate," said Blaster, moving his bishop to trap Kaze's king.

"The boss lost?" asked Claw, jaw dropping as he looked wide eyed at the chessboard. "That never happens!"

"Is something on your mind, boss?" asked Fang, jumping over to Kaze's side.

"Yes," said Kaze, before backhanding Fang in the face without even looking back at him and standing up. "That Delilah, something about her seems so familiar, I know I've heard of a Kitsune by that name before…" he said, scratching his chin. "I wonder where…"

Suddenly, a Rat burst in. "Boss! The prisoner has escaped!" he exclaimed, panting. "He's moving up through the base!"

Kaze chuckled. "He's got spunk, doesn't he?" he asked, smirking. He looked to his trio. "You three go recapture him."

"You're not coming with us boss?" asked Fang, getting back to his feet.

Kaze snarled and leapt on Fang, pinning him down, snarling as a wild look entered his eyes. "Did I SAY I was coming with you?" he snarled, baring his teeth.

Fang looked up, eyes wide in terror. He got a nervous smirk. "N-no s-sir! I d-don't know what I was t-thinking!"

"Good, don't question me," growled Kaze, drawing his cane sword and holding it to Fang's throat. "Got it!"

Fang shook in fear, seeing his reflection in the sword. "I won't b-boss!"

Kaze stepped back, regaining his composed and refined appearance as he sheathed his sword. "Good," he said. "Now go, deal with this pest quickly," he said, readjusting his monocle. "Preferably alive but I'll take dead. He's turning out to be more trouble than he's worth."

"Yes sir!" replied Claw, picking up Fang and heading out with Blaster quickly.

Kaze turned back to the fireplace. "Where have I heard that name before?" he asked, scratching his head. "…Rat," he asked, looking back to the messenger. "Get me the wanted posters we keep to see if someone we've come across has a worthwhile bounty on their heads."

"Yes sir," said the Rat, fearfully, quickly backing out of the room.

"I'll figure out who you are, little one," said Kaze, smirking slyly. "I have a feeling you're worth a lot of money."

* * *

Drake blocked a club strike from an Elite Gargoyle with one of his swords, slashing it back with his other one. This allowed Ember to blast it with her heat breath, superheating it's armor to be red hot. Spyro followed up with his ice breath to rapidly freeze the armor, after which an Earth Flail from Demi shattered it. Cynder flew in and spat a glob of purple poison in it's face. The Gargoyle clutched it's eyes, howling in pain as it staggered back. It tried to strike back but it's attack was way off, allowing Cynder to easily dodge and stab it in the chest with her poison coated tail, finishing it off.

"Looks like another new power of yours it," said Drake, putting his swords away. "I'd say this one is like a spitting cobra's tactic."

"Huh?" asked Cynder, cocking her head and looking up at him.

"Spitting Cobras spit their venom in their attacker's eyes to blind them, looks like that's your new power."

Cynder nodded. "So I guess my purple venom attacks are mostly disabling ones," she stated, giving that some thought.

"Well this day has been productive," said Sparx, looking at the group. "Now can we leave before Tyrania tries to kill us?" he exclaimed, rather frantically. "We've saved the slaves, let's just get out of here! Something bad _always_ happens to us in the bad guy's castle!"

Ember looked up at Sparx. "I promised Siria we'd beat Tyrania so that her people can come back to life," she replied. "I'm not quitting now."

Sparx sighed as the group moved ahead. "Alright, but I just know something creepy is about to happen…" he said, apprehensively, and right as they passed a room full of medieval torture devices. "See…told you," he said, shivering in fear.

Cynder looked in and gulped uneasily. "Why is there are huge window there?" she asked, looking out a large glass window in the side, the caldera of the volcano visible.

"Simple," said Drake. "Tyrania likes to watch the torture happen…" he said, snarling as he looked around the room.

Ember shivered in fear, leaning against her father as her eyes batted panicked around the room. "Why would anyone have a place like this?" she asked, her voice shaky. Blaze put a paw on her back lightly.

Spyro snarled. "Because Tyrania's a monster, as if we didn't know that already," he said in a horrified tone. He then found that some of the torture devices had golden tags on the bottoms and dusted them off with his tail. He gave a gulp at what he uncovered, a cold chill going down his spine as he looked down at his own name he'd just uncovered on a torture rack.

Demi, shy thing she was, backed out of the room, gagging lightly. "Can we go now?" she asked, shaking with fright.

Cynder nodded, giving an uneasy look back at her name on a tag on another of the devices. "Tyrania can't have a heart to have a room like that," she muttered in a rather disturbed tone. "It's one thing to torture people, but to get a sick kick out of _watching_…" she said with a shiver.

Drake nodded, putting a comforting hand on his frightened daughter's back. "Agreed, let's head out and take Tyrania out for good," he said, leading the way.

* * *

Pyrus blew another hole in the next ceiling and flew up. They were in a large room with bundles of all sorts of stuff surrounding them, many on a large number of higher platforms. "Good thing this place is made out of wood, or this would be much harder," he said, Delilah following him.

Delilah nodded. "Yeah. Boy…this brings back old memories," she said nostalgically, looking around.

Pyrus blinked. "Of what?"

Delilah suddenly got a nervous look. "Oh…of setting up pranks on people!" she said, though she was pawing the ground a little nervously.

Before Pyrus could ask, a door swung open, the three weasels slinking in. "You guys?" snarled Pyrus, taking a defensive stance.

"Look, it's little Pyrus, and his girlfriend," said Fang, giving a laugh.

"Girlfriend?" asked Pyrus and Delilah at the same time.

"I'm not his girlfriend!" shouted Delilah.

"She's not my girlfriend!" shouted Pyrus, at the same time.

"Eew! I'm like two hundred years older than he is!" continued Delilah, face contorting in disgust.

"Oh well, it really doesn't matter," said Claw, shrugging nonchalantly. "You're going back in your cage and she's going to get a beating, I'm sure we have something around here that can hold a spirit," he said, then chuckled. "I'm Claw," he stated, with an exaggerated bow.

Fang did the same. "Fang," he introduced.

Blaster lit a pipe. "Blaster, charmed to meet you," he said, before opening his coat, showing a massive number of sticks of dynamite on the inside of his coat. He then leapt up, landing on a ledge high above.

"Oh, so _that's_ why they call him Blaster…" replied Pyrus, before Fang leapt at Delilah, forcing her to dodge a bite. "And I guess that's why his name is Fang," he commented, then looked at the approaching Claw. "And why do they call you Claw?"

Claw chuckled, slowly taking off his gloves to reveal long, sharp, animalistic claws. "Any more questions?"

Pyrus gulped, staring nervously at the claws. "H-how did those fit in your gloves?" he asked, before Claw leapt at him, slashing several times. Pyrus tried his fire breath, but the agile Weasel leapt over him, slashing his back and drawing blood. Pyrus tried to smash him with his tail, only to be dodged again, Claw kicking him in the chest and launching him a good ways. Pyrus growled, firing another blast of fire at Claw but was once again dodged, forcing him to dodge several more slashes. He looked over as Delilah dodged bites from Fang, who was looking rather feral. "I thought you couldn't get hurt…"

Delilah leapt over Fang's head but was kicked in the back. "I can get hurt by natural stuff, like teeth and claws," she said. "I can phase through pretty much anything else I can see coming, but it's tiring to do it while fighting," she continued, firing at Fang but getting dodged and bit in the shoulder, then thrown a good ways. She growled, not showing a visible wound but cringing in pain. She managed to catch Fang's stomach with her hind legs, flipping him over her.

Claws kicked Pyrus back but the young dragon managed to force him back with a blast of fire. Pyrus then noticed something land beside him, but before he could react, it exploded, knocking him off his feet. "Ow…" he muttered, looking up to see Blaster lighting another stick of dynamite and throwing it at him. Pyrus managed to blow it up in midair with his fire breath, but now knew that he had to watch out for them both. Looking back, he saw Claw charge him and try to slash him, forcing him to dodge. He then had to fly up to avoid a bomb from Blaster.

Delilah dodged several bites and bit Fang on the nose, causing him to jump back, only for her to get blasted away by another of Blaster's bombs. "Ouch…bombs hurt…" she muttered, getting back up. She leapt out of the way of another and then kicked Fang in the head, driving him back. He quickly recovered and lunged forwards, biting her leg and swinging her around, throwing her a good distance.

"There's got to be a way to slow this guy down…" Delilah muttered, getting back to her feet before looking over and seeing a water pipe attached to the wall. She got a smirk and leapt out of another bite from Fang, positioning herself near the pipe and then jumping out of the way as he bit down, tricking him into biting the pipe, blasting him backwards with a burst of water, stunning him enough for her to jump on his back and slash away at him.

Pyrus jumped back from Claw's slashes, seeing what Delilah did. "What's a matter, am I too quick for you?" asked Claws, chuckling. He leapt at Pyrus, slashing the Dragon across the chest.

Pyrus cringed before dodging another stab, causing Claw's to punch a hole in the floor. "I need to slow him down…" he muttered, dodging another slash. He then looked at his tattoos. "I guess that's worth a shot…" he muttered, jumping back to avoid another trust of from Claw. His tattoo lit up blue and he tried to use his ice breath, but nothing came out. "Come on…" he muttered frantically. Claw took advantage and kicked Pyrus a good ways with a laugh. Pyrus got back up, trying his ice again to no avail as he was sent flying by another bomb from Blaster. "Come on…" he muttered, trying repeatedly as he got back up, concentrating hard as Claw charged. He dodged another slash, causing Claw to drive his razor sharp nails through the floor. Pyrus' tattoos finally lit up and he managed a weak puff of ice breath, freezing Claw's hand to the floor.

"What?" asked Claw, trying to pull his arm out.

Pyrus spun around, smashing his tail club into Claw's side and staggering him aside. He then hit him with a Fire bomb, blowing the psychotic Weasel off his feet and freeing his arm. "Well, it's not much, but maybe it'll turn the tide of this thing…" he said, before dodging another bomb from Blaster. He retaliated by launching a Fire Bomb at the Weasel, forcing him to leap to another platform.

Delilah was finally thrown off of Fang and kicked aside. Fang, his coat torn and his back bleeding, responded by leaping on her and trying to bite her repeatedly. He bit her shoulder and shook her violently, forcing Delilah to counterattack by kicking up and nailing Fang right between the legs. Fang moaned and grabbed his groin, staggering back and doubling over. "That's a dirty move…" he groaned in a strained voice.

"Who said a trickster spirit had to play fair?" asked Delilah, getting back to her feet with a snicker and blasting Fang backwards with her fox fire, lighting his coat on fire and forcing him to pat it out rapidly, giving her the opening to leap on him and bite at his head.

Pyrus dodged Claw's slashes, Claw having slowed down, breathing somewhat labored. "Must've hurt him when I smashed him with my club…" said Pyrus softly. He took advantage, charging forwards and headbutting Claw in the chest, driving him backwards. Pyrus' tattoos lit up and he fired a freezing breath at Claw again, managing to coat him in a very light ice, but it was enough to hold him so Pyrus could charge forwards and Comet Dash him in the face, shattering the ice and sending him flying.

Fang threw off Delilah, staggering back. "I've had enough of you brats!" he snarled, wiping blood off his head from where his ear had been torn off. He then leapt up to Blaster's platform.

Claw staggered back to his feet, wiping blood off his mouth and spitting out a tooth. "This is quite annoying," he growled, joining his comrades on a higher floor, holding his ribs. He cut a rope, sending a bunch of timber it'd held in place falling at them.

Pyrus leapt one way, Delilah leaping the other, the wood clattering to the floor where they'd just been standing. Fang then bit another rope, freeing a mass of barrels to role at the duo, forcing them to jump out of the way once again, leaving them open for a bomb from Blaster to send them flying. "That bomb guy is seriously annoying!" snarled Delilah, getting back up and shaking herself off.

Pyrus nodded, getting back up and dodging another bundle of objects thrown at them, only to be blasted off his feet with another bomb. "Maybe we should give them a taste of their own medicine…" he said, getting back to his feet.

Delilah smirked. "Good idea! Keep them distracted," she said, running off and jumping up to grab another platform, climbing higher.

Pyrus launched a Fire Bomb at the trio, forcing them to head for another platform, from which they cut loose another bundle of barrels, sending them rolling towards him. Pyrus dodged once again, then blew up a stick of dynamite midair with his fire breath.

Claw snarled, looking at Blaster. "Throw another one!"

"Yeah! Blow him up real good!" exclaimed Fang, clapping his hands excitably.

Blaster nodded, lighting the stick of dynamite. He threw it at Pyrus, only for Delilah to leap off a lower platform, swinging her tails around and launching it right back at them. "Get it! Get it!" he yelled, trying to grab it as it rolled under his legs, dropping several of the sticks still strapped to him.

Fang and Claw dove, trying to grab it but falling over each other in a panic. "Got it!" yelled Fang, grabbing it, only to find the fuse had burned out. "Oh crud…" he said, cringing along with the other two.

Pyrus and Delilah hit the deck as the dynamite detonated. Seconds later, a second, much more massive explosion went off where Buster had been. As the dust settled, Pyrus looked up to see a massive hole blown in the wall, fires burning at the edges of it but the Weasels nowhere to be found except for life gems that rained down from the blast.

"Well, they sure know how to go out with a bang," said Delilah, dusting herself off. "Three down, one to go."

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah…" he said, though still breathing heavily. "Let's go," he stated, shattering a few gems with his tail to heal and reenergize himself.

* * *

Demi took the knees out from under an Elite with a well placed headbutt, allowing Drake to slash it repeatedly with his swords, leaving it open for a blast of fire from Blaze to finish it off. Meanwhile, Spyro, Cynder, and Ember attacked another with the Apes, Cynder slashing one of it's hands off with a Air Cutter while Spyro froze the other one while the Apes took out it's knees with hammers, allowing Ember to plow into it's head with a Comet Dash, shattering and killing it. Another ran out of the hall ahead, swords ready as a group of gold armored Warriors followed behind it..

"Guys, stand back!" ordered Cynder, then concentrated, purple and green poison surging around her in a vortex as Ember and everyone else took cover. She opened her eyes and sent out a wave of purple poison, washing over the Gargoyles and stopping them in their tracks, then followed that up with a large wave of the green venom, melting and burning the Gargoyles severely. Cynder panted as she landed, watching as the Gargoyles shattered to pieces.

"Wow! A Poison Fury!" shouted Ember, running over to Cynder. "That was so cool!"

Cynder smiled. "Thanks, good thing dad gave me an upgrade."

Ember nodded, her eyes still full of excitement. "It's still really cool! I wonder if I could do a Heat Fury, that'd be so awesome!" she said, then saw a large, oriental door with golden trim, primarily being blood red in color with four eyes embroidered into it. "Wow…"

Sparx whistled. "That's a fancy door…why do I have a feeling something horrible is waiting on the other side?"

"There is," said Siria, appearing in Ember's necklace. "Those four eyes are Tyrania's insignia, this must lead to the highest tower. That's where Tyrania will be waiting for us…"

"And I'm afraid this is as far as me and my Apes can go," said Drake, sheathing his swords.

Demi whined, looking up worriedly. "W-why, Daddy?" she asked, confusion clear in her voice.

Drake looked down and put a hand on his adopted daughter's head. "Apes can't fly, not unless we find some Dreadwings around here," he explained. "I'm afraid if we come, we'd just be big targets for her to attack and draw your attention," he continued, frowning. "We'll try to find another way to help, but you dragons can fight her in her element and you shouldn't need to be worrying about us while a battles going on."

Spyro nodded. "He's right…Demi, you can stay here if you want too…"

Demi shook her head. "No…I'm still not sure if I want to be Earth Guardian…but if I do, I can't back down from this…" she explained. "I'll help…but be careful, daddy, ok?"

Drake nodded. "We will, we haven't survived this long without knowing how to watch ourselves."

Ember looked to Blaze. "Dad…maybe you should stay with Drake…" she said, thinking. "I don't want you getting hurt…"

Blaze looked down at her, smiling. "I won't…I've not been in your life for nearly 20 years, I'm not backing down when I'm this close to the one who kept me from you…I'll be careful, ok?"

Ember nodded, but she looked hesitant… "Ok…but please be careful…" she stated, worry heavy in her voice.

Blaze looked to Drake. "Keep safe, alright?" he asked in a respectful voice.

"Same here," said Drake, smiling back, his tone just as respectful as Blaze's.

"Alright, let's take Tyrania down, for good," said Spyro, slowly walking towards the door and opening it.

The four headed up the staircase of Tyrania's castle, preparing for the final battle with her.

* * *

Well, looks like Ember's still a fangirl, doesn't it? And so Kaze's trio have been taken out and both groups are heading for their enemy's lairs. Next time, the confrontations with Tyrania and Kaze, see you then!

And yeah, that torture room scene kind of creeps me out...and I wrote it!


	19. Boss Kaze

Hey guys, time for the final fight with Boss Kaze! Empress Tyrania's boss fight will be shown next week. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Boss Kaze**

Pyrus ran up a fleet of stairs, now at the very top of the building. "Alright…we're here…" he said, a little fear in his voice.

Delilah put a paw on his shoulder. "Don't worry, he might be fast, but we figured out how to slow down his lackeys," she said, smiling encouragingly. "We can do this."

Pyrus looked up and smiled back. "Thanks…" he said, before the entire base shook, knocking Pyrus off his feet. "What was that?"

Delilah helped him up. "I think that huge explosion destabilized the entire base," she stated, looking around. "We'd better hurry, there's no telling if this base will stay together much longer."

Pyrus nodded and then slowly opened the door, Kaze was simply sitting at a table, sipping some tea. "Ah, why hello Pyrus. What a surprise! I thought my henchmen would've been enough to deal with you, but you're more powerful than I expected," he said, keeping a gentlemanly tone to his voice and sat with a dignified presence. "Well come in, let's talk for a bit. We may be enemies, but that doesn't mean we can't come to a civilized resolution, does it?" he stated with a polite tone, motioning the two over.

Pyrus blinked, keeping his eyes out for anything suspicious as he slowly walked in, Delilah following. Suddenly, a rat leapt out of hiding, placing a stone collar on Delilah's neck. "What is this?" she asked, trying to faze out of it but unable to.

"Just something to make sure you don't pull any tricks. It's made of a special enchanted stone that prevents spirits from becoming intangible, it'll keep you were I can see you," said Kaze nonchalantly , pouring another cup of tea. "Now come closer, I won't bite."

Pyrus looked to Delilah. "Are you alright?"

Delilah snarled, but nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine…" she muttered, staying back a bit to be out of Kaze's reach, just in case.

Pyrus walked up to Kaze, looking up at the massive weasel. "H-how did you k-know that would work?" he asked with a fearful look in his eyes.

Kaze smirked. "Simple, me and her are more similar than we seem," he explained. "You see, I'm not a normal weasel, dear boy. I'm what is known as a Kamaitachi," he explained. "That is a weasel-like demon that can move as fast as the wind, that much of me you've seen already. As for how I know how to contain your friend, it's because we are both Yokai; a very specific type of supernatural creature who spring from the same homeland. Not the spirit world specifically but where our kinds first appeared, a distant land far across the seas."

"You don't look like a Kamaitachi," said Delilah with a surprised look, looking him over.

Kaze looked at himself in a hand mirror, smiling. "Of course not, I'm in disguise. My true form is far too hideous. I much prefer looking like a gentleman than a savage beast."

"Wait…so you're a d-d-demon?" asked Pyrus in a fearful voice, shaking a little.

Kaze chuckled. "Well, yes, but I'm a _civilized_ demon, there is a difference you know," he replied, then motioned, the Rat coming and setting a plate of meat in front of Pyrus. "Hungry, dear boy?" he asked, seeing Pyrus look hesitantly. "Oh I get it, you think I've poisoned it," he said, giving a chuckle. He cut a bit of the meat and ate it himself. "There, see?" he asked, swallowing. "Poisoning someone is beneath me. If I'm going to off someone, I'm upfront about it."

Pyrus looked down at the meat, his stomach growling. He sniffed it lightly to make sure. He slowly ate it, ravenously.

"There," said Kaze, smiling. "See? When I say something, I keep my word."

Pyrus eyes suddenly widened, looking up. "Wait…aren't you immortal? So wouldn't that mean poison wouldn't bother you?"

"No, Pyrus," said Delilah, putting a paw on his back. "Unlike me, Kaze's species isn't immortal."

Kaze smirked. "Well, that is true. But whose going to kill me?" he asked, taking a sip of his tea. "And darling, there's another thing about that collar of yours. Not only does it make you solid, it makes you quite killable," he said, getting a gasp from Delilah. "You still have everlasting life of course, but your body is now no less mortal than mine is," he stated, giving chuckle. "Though of course you're still plenty hard to kill…Anyway, back on topic, I'm certain we can reach a compromise that'll benefit us both, it actually involves your little friend, young Pyrus."

Pyrus blinked, finishing his meat. "Delilah? What do you mean?"

"Simple, I'm sure by now she's told you she's a wanted criminal," stated Kaze, taking a sip of tea, watching Pyrus' eyes widen in shock as Delilah looked down in shame. "Oh, you haven't told him?" he asked, giving a chuckle. "My my, the secret you've kept!" he said, setting down his tea and pulling out a wanted poster. It had Delilah's picture on it in black and white, but the words were in some other language that Pyrus couldn't read. "You see, me and Delilah share something else besides being Yokai, we are both thieves," he explained in a sly tone, a smirk on his face.

Pyrus looked to Delilah, face full of confusion. "D-Delilah…is it true?" he asked, betrayal heavy in his voice.

Delilah gave a sigh. "It…it was…" she said, a shameful look on her face. "I used to rob rich travelers…I never had anything back then…I wanted it. You're a prince, you've never had to make do with nothing," she said, looking down miserably. "…And they seemed to have it to spare…but then I found out that because of me, someone lost everything…I stole the money they were planning to use to pay off a debt…because of what I did, everything they had was taken to pay it off…" she stated, face falling in sadness. "I never felt so horrible…so I stopped stealing and gave back everything I had that I could, particularly to that family I made lose it all…I had to run away from my homeland to escape the law…I'm so sorry, Pyrus…you're just the first real friend I've had in a long time…I was afraid if I told you you'd not want to be my friend anymore…"

"And that is where my offer comes into play," said Kaze, adjusting his monocle. "It's simple, really. You let me have Delilah to turn in for the rather astronomical bounty on that little head of hers…and I forget you were ever here. You can go on your way, continue whatever journey you were on and I'll continue as I was, everyone lives happily ever after. So…do we have a deal?" he asked, looking down at Pyrus with a smirk.

Pyrus looked to Delilah, seeing the pleading look in her eyes. "Please Pyrus…I've changed…I don't want to prison…" begged Delilah, fear and worry on her face.

Pyrus looked slowly up at Kaze's face. Pyrus' face slowly contorted in anger. "No!" he snarled, fury now in his eyes.

"Oh good, I knew you'd make the right…wait…No?" asked Kaze, his sly face suddenly changing to one of disbelief. A feral, furious look overcame him as he glared down at Pyrus, baring his teeth. "Boy, here's something you aren't getting! NO ONE says no to Boss Kaze! Either you take this deal or I am going to KILL YOU! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?" he yelled, snarling in fury. "Besides, she's just a rotten thief! Once and thief! Always a thief! I should know, I AM a thief!"

Pyrus didn't back down, merely snarling back. "I said NO!" he replied, determination in his eyes. "Here's something you aren't getting, I believe her when she says she's changed. She's helped me all this time for no reason besides she wanted to. I had nothing to steal or anything, but she's helped me again and again…she's my friend, but I don't expect someone like you to get that!"

Kaze chuckled, slowly at first, then breaking into a mad, deranged laugh. "Friend?" he asked, holding his stomach as he laughed. "There's no such thing as friends! The only friend anyone has in this world is themselves! But if you want to throw your life away for someone else, be my guest! And then, when I'm done with you, I'll drag your little friend back to our homeland and turn her in, collecting a huge reward! And you know what?" he asked, giving a demented smirk. "I think I'll sneak into her cell after that and…have my way with her."

Pyrus snarled in fury, smoke rising from his nose. "You're not laying one claw on her!" he roared, suddenly flying forwards, slamming into Kaze's chest and slamming him through the ceiling.

"Pyrus!" yelled Delilah, jumping forwards, only to be held back by the Rat, who started for stairs nearby.

Pyrus and Kaze ended up on the roof of the base, a storm raging around them, rain falling in a torrent. Kaze kicked way from Pyrus, landing on the other part of the roof as Pyrus crashed into the railing that encircled the roof. Pyrus looked over, seeing nothing but an abyss below, causing him to gulp before looking back to Kaze.

Kaze landed, wiping his mouth and chuckling. "You've got spunk kid! I really like that!" he said, regaining his composure and readjusting his monocle. "But spunk won't save you. Not from me!"

Pyrus snarled, whipping his tail fiercely. "I'm not afraid of you…not when my friend is depending on me! I don't like to fight...but I will to protect her!" he shouted, determination in his eyes. He then let loose a torrent of flames at Kaze.

Kaze disappeared in a blur, reappearing next to Pyrus and slamming him across the platform. "Did you forget? I can move as fast as the wind," he said, rapidly moving again and smashing his cane into Pyrus' back, throwing him for another loop.

Pyrus groaned, slowly standing up. "I don't care!"

Delilah gasped, watching Pyrus get thrown by another super fast attack. "Pyrus!" she yelled, being held back by the stone chain by the Rat.

Pyrus tried to stand, but received another hit from Kaze at high speeds, battering him around. Pyrus finally got back to his feet as Kaze stopped to laugh. "I'm not finished yet…"

Kaze chuckled. "Boy, you don't stand a chance," he said, no seriousness in his tone. "This is just a walk in the park for me."

Pyrus growled, no fear in his eyes. "I'm not quitting…I came all this way to help people! I wanted to stop you before Delilah was in trouble! Don't think I'm going to let you win now that she is!"

Kaze laughed. "That's so cute. You still think being in the right matters!" he said, in a mocking tone as if talking to a baby. "Kid, here's how the world works. There is no karma, there is no force that punishes bad people! People punish people! I can do whatever I want and I'll always get away with it. And do you know why?" he asked, speeding up and smacking Pyrus across the roof once more. "Because I'm smarter than you…" he stated, speeding across the roof and smashing Pyrus across the roof with a punch to the jaw. "I'm bigger than you," continued Kaze, speeding around and smacking Pyrus to the ground with his hand. "And I'm _much_ faster than you," he explained, vanishing and reappearing with an uppercut to launch Pyrus back, then speeding up and coming up behind him as he flew through the air, kicking him back across the roof. "You can't stop me, you're just not tough enough. And until someone who is shows up, I will continue to be unstoppable!" he said, drawing his cane sword. "And now, I'm done playing around," he said, speeding up and cutting Pyrus' back, drawing blood. "I had fun, but it's time we ended this. It's a shame, really, I'm going to have to go through a lot of trouble framing someone for this. Wouldn't want your mother finding out…" he said, keeping a refined tone as he raised his sword.

"Wouldn't want me finding out what?" asked a cold, calculating voice behind him.

Kaze slowly looked back, freezing as he saw Deadlock towering over him, smoke pouring out of her fire head's nose as all three glared at him in rage. "Deadlock?" he asked, staggering back.

"What were you doing with our son, Kaze?" asked the fire head, seething with rage.

"Oh this is your son?" asked Kaze, staggering back further with a nervous laugh as Deadlock approached him. " I didn't know, really I didn't!"

Pyrus looked up, blinking in surprise. "M-mom?" he asked, then saw Delilah, who winked at him, causing Pyrus to smile.

"I didn't know it was your son!" pleaded Kaze, staggering up against the railing of the roof. "P-please! I-I'll never do it again!"

Pyrus suddenly charged forwards and slammed headfirst into Kaze's chest, driving him back into the railing, driving his remaining horn into his stomach. Pyrus smiled, looking back as the "Deadlock" vanished into thin air. "Thanks Delilah!"

"Anytime!" said Delilah, only to be pulled back by the Rat, who prepared to strike her. However, the entire base suddenly shifted violently, sending the Rat staggering back and tumbling over the railing, Delilah's chain getting tangled around the railing.

Pyrus struggled to hold his footing, giving Kaze the opening to bash him aside with the back of his hand. Kaze staggered forwards, holding his bleeding stomach. "Nice try, boy, but it'll take more than this to put me down!" he said, speeding up and punching Pyrus in the jaw, launching him backwards. "But I'll give you credit were it's earned, you're the first one whose ever drawn my blood!" he said, slowly picking up his sword. "Now, where was I?" he asked, speeding up and swinging his sword at Pyrus' head as lightning flashed.

Delilah cringed, not able to watch…however, when she opened her eyes, she gasped in surprise. "Pyrus…"

Pyrus had managed to parry the blow with his remaining horn. He capitalized by letting loose a Fire Bomb pointblank into Kaze's chest, blasting him backwards across the roof. Kaze groaned, snarling as he stood up. "How did you do that?" he asked, dumbstruck. "My speed…there's no way you could've reacted fast enough!"

Pyrus smiled lightly. "You're faster than the wind, Kaze…not faster than light," he said, kicking the sword over the edge into the abyss below. "I saw the lightning flash off your sword," he explained, panting lightly. "And I'm going to tell you something. I might not be stronger, bigger, or faster than you are, but I've got one thing you don't have," he said, giving a small smirk. "Friends…"

Kaze snarled, eyes reverting to the feral appearance as he bared his teeth. "NO ONE! Makes a fool of Boss Kaze! No one!" he yelled. "I'm going to rip you apart! You and your so called friend!" he roared, speeding up at Pyrus, only for the base to once more rock, tripping him up and forcing him to slow down. Pyrus took advantage of this by launching into him with a Comet Dash, staggering the massive weasel backwards. Delilah spread her tails and blasted him with her Fox Fire, blasting him even further back. Finally, Pyrus struck Kaze in the chest with a Fire Bomb, sending him flying back into the previously damaged railing, cracking it up and getting Kaze's clothing tangled up in it.

Pyrus panted before the base violently rocked once more, this time the entire place beginning to splitter and crack where it connected to the mountain. "Pyrus!" yelled Delilah, struggling to untie herself from the railing. Pyrus ran over and blasted the metal chain with ice, letting Delilah break it and free herself. "We've got to jump onto the mountain! This whole place is coming apart!"

Pyrus nodded, but hesitated, looking back as Kaze tried to free himself from his coat, which was tangled up in the broken railing. "But what about him?"

"Leave him! We don't have time!" yelled Delilah, pulling him along.

Kaze snarled, a feral rage entering his eyes even more than before, his lips pulling back in an animalistic snarl. "NO! I'm not letting you get away!" he yelled, struggling and tearing his coat to pieces as he tried to break free. "You won't get away from me!"

Delilah and Pyrus made a running jump, landing on the side of the mountain as the entire building splintered and broke apart, the high winds tearing into the destabilized base further until the whole building tumbled off the mountain side, plunging into the abyss below. "…I guess that's it…" said Pyrus with a sorrowful voice, watching the base, and apparently Kaze, fall.

"What's wrong?" asked Delilah, putting a paw on his shoulder. "We won…"

"We left Kaze to die…" said Pyrus, a disturbed look. "Killing someone in battle is one thing…leaving someone to die is another…"

"Pyrus…Kaze would've tried to tear you apart if you'd tried to save him…" said Delilah, seriously. "Villains _never_ take your hand and let you save them. They take a wild swing at you, you counterattack and they plunge to their deaths or the like because of their own stupidity, trust me, I'm over 200 years old, I've seen it a _lot_," she said, shaking her head. "Trust me…"

Pyrus nodded slightly. "I guess…it'd sure fit him…"

Delilah nodded, then frowned. "Pyrus…are you sure you're ok with me?" she asked, shame in her voice. "…I hurt a lot of people…I ran from the law…" she said, sorrowfully. "I'm no different than Kaze…"

Pyrus shook his head. "You ARE different, you changed…you stopped when you found out you were hurting people, then tried to make up for what you did and fix it," he explained in a calm tone. "Kaze knew he was hurting people and didn't stop…and that's why I can forgive you for what you did…" he said, giving a small smile.

Delilah smiled lightly. "Thanks…" she said, giving him a hug, then blinked and pulled back. "…Sorry," she said, blushing. "Got a bit emotional…"

Pyrus chuckled. "It's fine…let's get that collar off of you," he said, trying to remove it with his claws…then his teeth…then his tail club. "It's no good, I can't break it…" he muttered in a very frustrated tone.

"That's because only I can!" shouted Kaze's now demented voice, his hand grabbing the ledge as he slowly pulled himself up, lightning revealing that his face was now feral and demented in appearance and his coat was hanging off him in tatters. His trademark monocle was still in place, but that was the only thing still remaining of his formally refined self. "Did you really think it'd be that easy?" he asked, laughing hysterically.

Pyrus took a battle stance and snarled. "Get out of here while you've still got your life! You've lost everything! Your base and henchmen are all gone! You've lost Kaze!"

Kaze gave another psychotic laugh. "No, I've still got one thing…revenge on the little BRAT that cost me everything!" he yelled, snarling rabidly at Pyrus. "Now, this is were it gets REALLY interesting!" he growled, closing his eyes. Lightning flashed as they opened, shattering his monocle in the process to reveal his eyes now glowing blood red. His fingers on each hand fused together, erupting into a long, sickle-like blade. His toes and feet followed suit, a single blade tearing out of them. His tail curved violently, another sickle manifesting at it's tip. His teeth jutted outwards, becoming long and sharp. Finally, his fur turned pitch-black as lightning illuminated his true demonic form, revealing all his blades were a deep blood red.

Pyrus gulped. "So that's what a Kamaitachi really looks like?" he asked, shuddering a little bit.

Delilah nodded. "Yeah…and since he's probably lost his mind, I don't think the Deadlock illusion thing will work again," she said, backing up a little bit, fear in her voice.

"Now, the battle really begins!" yelled Kaze, his voice now distorted and much deeper in pitch. He spun around, generating a whirlwind and throwing the two around in it. When he finally stopped, the two were hurled into the side of the mountain. Pyrus looked up and yelped, dodging as one of Kaze's sickle arms plunged into the rock were his head had been seconds ago, lightning illuminating the scene. Delilah tried blasting Kaze with her Fox Fire, but he swung his sickle tail, sending blade of air tearing through the flames and forcing her to dodge.

Pyrus let loose a torrent of flames into Kaze's back. Kaze simply tore through the flames, slashing him across the chest with his sickle arm and then smashing him in the head with the blunt side of the other one, throwing him several feet into a rock. Delilah leapt on Kaze's back and bit into it, only for him to slash her across the back with his tail sickle and throw her off. He swung his arms, sending a pair of air blades at them and forcing them to dodge as the blades sliced into the ground. Pyrus let loose a Fire Bomb, striking Kaze in the chest and driving him back slightly, but the monstrous weasel simply countered by spinning and generating another cyclone, once more tossing him and Delilah around like rag dolls and throwing them away.

Pyrus moaned, getting to his feet as Kaze charged him once again, forcing him to dodge a barrage of slashes and bites. Pyrus' tattoos lit up and he sent a still underdeveloped ice breath into Kaze, managing to coat him in ice and immobilize him. "Quick! Attack him before he can break free!" called Delilah, charging and leaping on Kaze's back, slashing away at him. Pyrus nodded, charging forwards and engulfing himself in flames, striking Kaze in the chest with a Comet Dash.

Kaze was freed from his icy prison by the attack, launching him backwards to the ground. He got back to his feet, snarling viciously. "Don't think you'll win that easily!" he yelled, speeding up to a blur and buffeting the two with slashes and bites.

Pyrus groaned, falling to the ground, covered in bleeding slashes. "He's so fast…" he muttered, getting shakily to his feet. "What do we do?"

Delilah got knocked against the mountain side when Kaze bit and threw her, not showing any physical damage by cringing in pain. "…Your ice!"

Pyrus got bit on the shoulder, drawing blood and fired his ice but Kaze moved before he could be hit and simply tackled Pyrus once more, slamming him against the mountain side. Pyrus groaned, getting to his feet. He saw Delilah get slashed and knocked to the ground, then caught Kaze's blur heading for him. Thinking quickly, Pyrus fired his Ice Breath at the moist ground in front of him, freezing it solid and sending Kaze slipping and crashing against the wall. Before Kaze could react, Delilah leapt on the back of his neck, lifting her tails and blasting him repeatedly with fire. He tried to slash her with his tail, but she dodged, causing him to slash himself across the back. Kaze roared in pain and snarled, spinning around to face them.

"Kaze, just give up!" yelled Pyrus. "There's still time for you to quit and leave here with your life!" To Pyrus' surprise, Kaze started laughing hysterically in response.

"What's so funny?" asked Delilah, maintaining a battle stance.

Kaze looked up at them, his eyes as feral and crazed as they had been the entire battle. "You actually think you've got a chance!" he replied, flickering as two more of him manifested, surrounding his two enemies.

"There's three of him?" asked Pyrus, looking back and forth at the three Kazes.

All three Kazes laughed. "Kamaitachi are known to attack in groups of three!" one of them roared, all three charging and slashing at the two with their sickle-like arms.

Pyrus tried to dodge, but there were simply too many slashes and he was knocked to the ground quickly, as was Delilah. Before they could even get up, they were assaulted again, batted around relentlessly by the three Kazes.

The three Kamaitachi gave a deranged laugh. "Had enough yet?" stated one.

Pyrus growled, getting to his feet and spitting a Fire Bomb at one of them, only to be dodged and then struck from behind by another one and knocked aside. Delilah got up and tried to fire back with her Fox Fire, but the one she was aiming at dodged while the other two slashed her across the back.

Pyrus snarled, getting up and seeing Delilah getting slashed repeatedly by the other two, the other one leaping in and driving a sickle into her back, getting a cry of agony from the Kitsune. Pyrus then remembered Kaze's words from before. _"With that collar on her she can actually die!"_ he though, a chill running down his spine. He sent a stream of flames at them, forcing them to dodge and he then jumped on top of her to protect her.

"Come on, give up!" yelled one of the Kazes.

"You can't win! We're going to kill you!" yelled another. "It's just a matter of time!"

"You're just a pampered little prince going up against the most powerful thief in the Unknown Realms!" yelled another, all three circling him, snarling like wolfs circling a victim before pouncing. "This is child's play!"

Pyrus looked down at Delilah, then back up at the Kazes. "I was a pampered prince…but I'm not anymore…" he said, his eyes growing serious. "Delilah is my friend…she's fought by my side this entire time…she's helped me through everything she could! I swear, no matter what I have to do, I'm not letting you kill her!"

"Have it your way! We'll just kill you both!" yelled Kaze, he and his clones charging at Pyrus.

Pyrus closed his eyes, his tattoo glowing brightly. He slowly floated into the air, ice and blue energy swirling around him. His eyes shot open, glowing blue as the ground froze around him, freezing the three Kazes in their tracks. He then sent out a shockwave that blasted the ice away, the two of the Kazes vanishing when hit while the real Kaze was sent flying backwards, over the edge of the cliff.

Delilah blinked, staggering to her feet as Pyrus landed, panting heavily and bleeding from numerous wounds sustained in the battle. "Pyrus…you…you used an Ice Fury?" she asked, amazement in her voice. "You can barely use Ice Breath!"

Pyrus smiled weakly. "I know…but you can do a lot when you're protecting someone you care about…"

"Help!" yelled Kaze, hanging from the side of the cliff face by his sickle, trying to get a grip but unable to. "Please help me!" he yelled, looking down fearfully at the abyss.

Pyrus gasped, preparing to head over, when Delilah put a paw on his chest, shaking her head. "Be careful," she said, shaking as she tried to support herself.

Kaze looked up, seeing Pyrus come to the edge of the cliff. "Kaze, take my paw!" he said, holding out his paw.

Kaze swung a sickle up, letting Pyrus take it and pull him up half way. "Thank you…" he said, then got an evil grin. "For being so predictable!" he yelled, swinging his sickle at Pyrus' neck, only for him to jump back slightly, letting the claw pass harmlessly by. Kaze spun around from his slash, losing his grip. He let out a scream as he found himself falling.

Pyrus looked over the cliff, watching Kaze flailing around like a rag doll as he plummeted into the abyss below. "Didn't I tell you that would happen?" asked Delilah, watching.

Pyrus nodded slowly. "Yeah…just like you said…" he stated, Kaze's screams no longer audible. "Do you think he's gone for good?"

Delilah looked down. "Let's see, several hundred foot drop down a sheer cliff face, he has metal sickles for limbs in a thunderstorm, and there's probably a bunch of sharp pointy rocks at the bottom he'll land on and be…" she started, then saw Pyrus looking sick in the face at her description. "Yeah, he's probably dead…"

Pyrus nodded, panting and barely able to stand. "…Good…I'm glad this fight is over, I don't know if I could fight much longer…" he said, staggering until Delilah helped support him. She lead him towards a cave in the mountain, limping herself.

"Thanks…" said Delilah, beginning to tend to his wounds by making a herb grow using her magic and then applying it to his wounds. "…Thanks for forgiving me…"

Pyrus smiled. "…Thanks for helping me have something to fight for…" he said, then frowned, looking at her collar. "…But with Kaze dead, there's no way to get that collar off…"

Delilah looked down at it. "It's fine…I'm careful not to get hurt anyway," she said, continuing to treat Pyrus' many wounds before he bled out. "Besides, being mortal makes everything more exciting. It was kind of boring being completely immortal."

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah…I guess so…" he said, moving so she could tend to the wounds on his back. "…So, will you come with me the rest of the way? You could get hurt…or worse now…"

Delilah chuckled. "I don't mind, I was bored anyway," she said, tending to a large deep wound from Kaze's cane sword. "That one might scar…Too bad Kaze fell to his death, we could really have used those gems…"

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah, they'd have helped…" he said, yawning, eyes drooping. "But you know I hate to see people die…"

"Yeah…we're both worn out…let's get some sleep, ok?" she asked, laying down next to him.

Pyrus smiled, giving a yawn. "Yeah…" he muttered. "Goodnight, Delilah…" he said, laying down.

Delilah smiled. "Goodnight, Pyrus," she said, laying down and both the tired warriors falling asleep.

* * *

Well it's curtains for Kaze, and Pyrus finally learned some control over his ice powers as a result. I did the "fall to his death" part because Ratigan died that way and Kaze is a homage to him. Anyway, were will these two head next? We'll just have to wait and see! Next time, the final battle with Empress Tyrania!


	20. Empress Tyrania

Well the final battle with Empress Tyrania is finally here! Will the group be able to stop the Goddess of the Gargoyles? We'll have to wait and see!

* * *

**Empress Tyrania**

Terrador looked out the balcony, the other Guardians beside him. In the distance, a black shape moved across the sky towards the temple. "It appears you were right, Cyril," said Terrador, gazing at the ominous sight getting closer by the second. "It looks like someone is trying to take advantage of the temple guard being weaker to strike us."

"I believe those are Gargoyles, Terrador," said Volteer. "They were with the Naga's group when they assaulted us before…but there must be thousands of them now…"

Cyril nodded. "But where did they all come from?" he asked, concern in his voice. "And more importantly, where are the Naga?"

"It doesn't matter," declared Terrador, as the massive flock of Gargoyles advanced. "I don't know if we can hold the temple against that swarm…"

"But we must try," responded Cyril. "If they take the temple, it would give them a strong foothold against us…not to mention the eggs. They're hidden, but those monsters would find them sooner or later and I shutter to think what they'll do if they find them…"

Terrador nodded. "We will have to fight for as long as we can and try to move the eggs to Warfang through the tunnels…" he said, the temple's dragon occupants gather in front of it. "That's all we can do against an army that size…may the Ancestors watch over us…" he said, looking at the advancing swarm with determination on his face.

* * *

Spyro pushed open the door to the top of the tower, emerging to find a large number of shattered Gargoyles around the platform, along with multiple piles of ash. "Looks like Tyrania isn't a good boss," said Sparx, following him up.

Ember nodded. "She's even nasty to the Gargoyles!" she exclaimed in a disgusted tone.

Demi looked around the platform and the clouds. "Where is she?" she asked, shivering slightly with a frightened look.

"Don't be afraid," said Spyro, reassuringly. "I know you miss your father, but we're all here with you."

Demi gave a small, grateful smile. "Thanks Spyro…I needed that…"

"Be on guard," warned Blaze, looking around carefully. "We're in Tyrania's domain now."

"Right you are!" said Tyrania's voice from the clouds. "Welcome to my humble home, I do hope you enjoyed your little tour. I cleaned up the torture chamber just for you!"

Cynder snarled. "Show yourself!" she yelled. "You're finished, Tyrania! We're going to stop you once and for all!"

Tyrania merely laughed sinisterly. "You really think so?" she asked. "You might be heroes…" she said, the clouds parting as the massive Gargoyle descended, landing on the side of the tower with her talons halfway down it, her head in full view of the group and still quite a bit over their heads. Her head was narrow and dragon-like, only with four glowing red eyes and four pointed horns extending from the back of her head, looking far more demonic in nature. Her neck was slightly long and reptilian, a row of spines going down her back. She had two massive wings stretching out from her sides in place of arms, having three claws at the mid point with the fourth forming the frame of the wing. She had a pair of powerful, saurian-like legs with vicious looking talons at the feet. A long, whip-like tail extended out behind her, spines running the length of it to the tip. Like her minions, she was made of stone, but had moss growing on her gigantic body, and the stone was black in color. From head to tail tip, she was indeed longer than the castle itself was tall.

The titanic monster looked down on them. "But here, I am a goddess!" she stated, giving a laugh.

Sparx screamed and hid behind Spyro's head. "S-she's s-so b-big!" he exclaimed, shaking with fear.

Tyrania chuckled. "You see, children, in this place, I'm surrounded by beings who worship me, that's why I did what I did," she explained, her demented gaze never leaving them. "So I could be worshiped like I deserve to be. It's so lovely! They tend to my every whim, sacrifice themselves for me, bring others to sacrifice to me in horribly sadistic ways. All so much fun!"

Ember growled. "You're not a god! You're just a monster!" she shouted, glaring straight back at the titanic Gargoyle. "You wiped out the Phoenixes and your own kind! That's just…just…nasty!"

Cynder nodded, a look of disgust on her face. "She's right, Tyrania, you're nothing but a monster. Your outside might have always looked that way, but you've got the inside to match!"

Blaze snarled. "You took me away from my family for almost 20 years just to make more of your soulless creations!"

Tyrania chuckled. "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me," she stated, staring down at them. "You know, I only need the two of you for Deadlock, I'm looking forwards to torturing the rest of you for even longer…" she stated, smirking sinisterly. "It'll be so fun! I'll take extra care to keep you alive through every waking moment of it. You'll be my playthings…until you finally break!" she said, tone getting more sinister for the last part.

Blaze took a step forwards, smoke rising from his nose. "I'd rather die than see you torture my daughter!"

Tyrania chuckled, looking him in the eyes. "What a lovely sentiment. Let's put it to the test, shall we?" she asked, eyes flashing brightly.

Blaze suddenly cried out in agony, struggling to stay on his feet. He fell to the ground, screaming and contorting in pain.

"Dad!" yelled Ember, running over to him in a panic. She then snarled, looking at Tyrania. "What did you do to him?"

"Activated the curse on him," said Tyrania, laughing with sadistic glee as she watched Blaze's agony. "Who did you think gave the Warden the power to use it in the first place?" she asked, smiling down at her handy work. "He said he'd rather die than see you to be tortured, I'm merely granting his wish. The pain will get worse and worse until his body can't take it anymore. I'm betting his heart will give out long before I start torturing you," she said, never losing her creepily happy voice. "It'll be so fun to watch!" she said, chuckling as if she'd just told a joke.

"No…" said Ember, looking down at her father, tears in her eyes as she saw the pain the curse was putting him through. "He can't die!" she said, her voice heavy with horror and fear. "Not now…"

Cynder snarled, fury filling her face as she watched Ember's fear and pain. "I know how we'll break that curse," she said, venom in her voice as she shot Tyrania a furious glare. "By taking you down! Once and for all!"

Tyrania chuckled. "You take me down?" she asked, smirking. "You're more than welcome to try," she replied, an eerily polite tone to her voice as she prepared herself for battle.

Spyro nodded, stepping forwards, even the shy Demi joining them, determination on all their faces. "Bring it!" Spyro shouted, whipping his tail fiercely as he took a battle stance.

Tyrania spread her gigantic wings and took off into the sky, Spyro, Cynder, and Demi following. Ember, however, cried next to her father. "You can't die dad…not now…" she cried. "I knew something bad was going to happen…I told you not to come…" she sobbed miserably as she watched her father contort in agony. "I told you…"

Siria emerged from Ember's necklace, landing next to her. "Ember, go help them defeat Tyrania, Cynder's right, it should break the spell," she explained, putting a wing on Ember's shoulder. "I'll stay with Blaze and try to do my best to stop the curse from killing him before you can break the curse."

Ember slowly nodded. "…Ok…I guess that's better than sitting here crying…" she said, wiping her tears. "…Just watch him, ok?"

Siria nodded. "I'll do all I can, I promise, Ember…"

"I'll watch him to, don't worry," said Sparx, though he was shaking with fear.

"Thanks…both of you," said Ember, before turning and snarling as she flew to join the others confronting Empress Tyrania. "I'm going to make you pay for that!" she yelled at the massive Gargoyle, as she and the others hovered across from the titanic Gargoyle.

Tyrania laughed in response. "Really? Well, as I said, you're very welcome to try your best! And you better hurry, no telling how long your father can hold out!" she replied, making light of the subject. "And there's no telling how long the Dragon Realms will either!"

Spyro's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean?" he asked, a chill going down his spine.

Tyrania chuckled. "It's simple, really," she said, circling them like a shark. "You two are here, and thus can't be there to do your cute little hero thing and inspire the dragons to fight, as you did with Malefor," she started. "So I took advantage to send a rather substantial swarm of Gargoyles to attack the Dragon Realms and…expand my lands a little bit," she said, a sadistic smirk crossing her face.

Spyro growled, rage filling his face. "They'll never give in to you, Tyrania! They'd rather die than let you enslave them!"

Tyrania laughed. "Enslave? Whoever said anything about enslaving the whole race, you silly dragons?"

"What are you going to do?" asked Demi, hesitantly.

Tyrania smirked. "Simple. Those who are good for slavery will indeed be enslaved. But those who can't, like the elderly and sick, for example, or those who are just too stubborn to know they're beaten, will be…disposed of, as _in_humanely as possible," she said, giving a laugh. "Oh it'll be such a fun time! So many beautiful screams!"

* * *

All out war had began in front of the Dragon Temple. The Dragons fought against the innumerable hordes of Gargoyles. Terrador obliterated a massive number with his Earth Shot, but they just kept coming. "Everyone! Hold the line as long as you can!" he ordered, blowing another swarm of the vile creatures to bits with another Earth Shot. "We have to buy time for the eggs to be moved!" he said, dodging several before smashing more to bits with his tail.

Cyril flew through the swarm, freezing hordes of the Gargoyles, sending them plummeting to earth where they shattered. "Terrador, there's too many of them!" he shouted, firing ice shards and destroying as many as he could. "I don't know how long we can hold out!"

Volteer sent blasts of lightning at Gargoyle around him, the rest of the dragons in the group fighting to the best of their ability. "I'm afraid we may have to make a strategic retreat, Terrador!" replied Volteer, looking around at the gigantic swarm.

"Not until the eggs are safe!" yelled Terrador, determination in his face. "We can't lose the entire clutch again!" he stated, fighting back against the hordes.

* * *

"We won't let you get away with this!" yelled Spyro, growling with fury in his eyes, along with his fierce determination.

Cynder snarled, face contorted in rage. "That's it, you're going down! Before, we were taking you down to free these slaves, but now you've gone too far and attacked our home! You've tried to kill Ember's father right in front of her! You've made this personal! And I swear to the ancestors, we'll make you wish you were never even born!" she said, seething with fury, Ember much the same.

Tyrania chuckled. "You're welcome to try! But you'll fail, just like your entire race!" she retorted. "Cynder, they called you the Terror of the Skies, correct?" she asked, focusing on the Black Dragoness. "Well I am the real Terror of the Skies! And now I'm going to prove it!" she said, letting out a vicious roar and flying straight at the group, batting them aside with her tail and massive wings. She spun around, spitting a stream of Shadow Fire at them, forcing them to fold their wings and dive-bomb out of the way of the massive stream the moment they caught themselves. The four dragons opened their wings and regained altitude before Spyro and Ember sent streams of fire at her while Cynder used her Poison Breath and Demi sent a barrage of Earth Missiles. All attacks hit home but did nothing to harm the titan except singe a miniscule part of her massive form. Tyrania simply flew on at them and let loose another stream of Shadow Fire, forcing all of them to dive sharply under it and her once more as she flew by.

Ember flew in behind Tyrania and launched Fire Bombs into her back, but they merely exploded harmlessly on her ancient hide before Tyrania batted her away with her gigantic tail. Cynder tried her luck, flying down and slashing into Tyrania's skin with her claws but doing nothing. Tyrania chuckled, looking over her shoulder. "You'll have to do better than that, dear," she stated, letting loose a stream of black smoke from her mouth, completely engulfing Cynder.

Cynder coughed and hacked, eyes watering. Cynder blacked out and fell off the gigantic Gargoyle. Fortunately, she managed to regain consciousness before she fell too far and regained altitude. "Are you alright?" asked Ember, as Spyro and Demi surrounded themselves in boulders and slammed full force into Tyrania's chest, but still failed to make a scratch.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, but that smoke made it too hard to breathe…" she said, clearing her eyes. "And that hide of hers is just too tough."

Tyrania launched Spyro and Demi a good distance with a gust of wind from her gigantic wings. "I haven't had this much fun in centuries!" the ancient tyrant exclaimed, a devilish smile on her stony maw.

Spyro managed to catch himself, looking to Cynder. "Let's try Convexity and see if that does any good!" he called, charging up and glowing in a purple aura.

Cynder nodded, doing the same thing and then with Spyro letting loose a purple laser alongside him. The two beams struck Tyrania straight in the chest, triggering a massive explosion. Before the blast could even clear, a stream of Shadow Fire erupted out of the smoke, slamming all four dragons hard into the side of the volcano.

Cynder groaned, slowly standing up in a sizeable crater with the others. "That didn't even faze her…" she muttered in disbelief, looking up as Tyrania stayed aloft, not even a scratch on her ancient hide. "Not even Malefor's shield could withstand Convexity…"

Spyro nodded. "Nothing we've hit her with can even scratch her, there's got to be a way to hurt her somehow."

Ember growled, getting back to her feet. "Yeah, and we've got to find it quick or my dad and the entire Dragon Realms will…" she said, not able to finish the sentence as sorrow filled her voice.

"Don't worry, Ember, we'll figure out something," said Cynder, looking back at Tyrania. "Look out!" she yelled, all four flying quickly out of the way as what looked like a massive Earth Missile hit were they were standing moments ago, causing a huge blast and a bigger crater.

"Let's get back up there, there's no telling how much time we have left!" said Spyro, taking off along with the others. He weaved through a massive, red version of an Earth Shot that Tyrania sent their way, then launched a Fire Bomb at Tyrania's face. Once more, her rocky hide protected her, allowing her to swing her tail around and smash it into him, launching him a good distance before he opened his wings and caught himself.

Demi tried her luck, forming a bolder around herself and slamming into Tyrania's face, managing to surprise her, but not enough, as she simply blasted her with her smoke, choking Demi and sending her plummeting down until she regained consciousness and flight.

* * *

Terrador blasted back at the Gargoyles as he and the other dragons retreated to the Temple. "Fall back to the temple! We'll hold out in there until the eggs are moved!" he yelled, the dragons swarming back into the temple. Terrador looked back, seeing Cyril was surrounded by Gargoyles on all sides. He flew in and let loose an Earth Shot, blowing the Gargoyles away that were encircling his fellow Guardian, allowing Cyril to escape and join him as they flew back to the temple, sealing the door behind them.

"Thank you, Terrador," said Cyril, panting, deep gashes in his light blue hide. "There's so many of them…"

Terrador nodded. "But they can't use their numbers as effectively when they're forced to move through the temple's hall ways instead of the open air, it'll be easier to pick them off as they advance. If we do that, maybe we'll be able to hold them off until the eggs are moved…" he said, heading into the temple with the others.

* * *

Tyrania spun around, flapped her wings, blasting Spyro, Demi, and Ember with a huge wind, launching them back in all directions. "Keep fighting, this is so fun!" she roared, blasting Spyro backwards with her Earth Shot. "See your pitiful attempts to stop me! Such determination! That makes the pain of crushing defeat all that more satisfying to inflict in the end!"

Cynder hovered back, watching and trying to think of something to do that could actually harm Tyrania. "Nothing is working, her hide is just too strong to break and we're just too small to hurt her…" she said, frustrated.

Ember flew forwards as Demi fell once more from Tyrania's smoke, latching onto Tyrania's eye ridge and slashing away at it. By a stroke of luck, she managed to slash one of Tyrania's eyes, finally earning a roar of pain before Tyrania swiped her off with her wing.

"That actually hurt, you little demon!" roared Tyrania, losing her cheery voice for the first time the entire fight, rage filling it as she shook her head, trying to make the pain stop. "No one has ever been able to hurt me except my own kind!" she roared, disbelief in her voice.

Cynder gasped. "That's it!" she said. "Everyone, aim for the eyes!" she called, diving at Tyrania and sending a blast of Poison into the massive Gargoyle's eyes, earning another roar of pain. Tyrania, snarling in rage, managed to counter attack by blasting Cynder with her Earth Shot, sending the Black Dragoness flying hard into the edge of the volcano rim.

Spyro took his turn, dive bombing her head and trying his electric breath, only for Tyrania to block with her wing and blast him hard with her Shadow Fire, sending him crashing through the castle tower. "Don't think because you found a weak point I'll go down that easily!" Tyrania bellowed, spinning around and knocking the girls away with her tail.

* * *

Drake snarled, watching Spyro plow through the room next to him before the Purple Dragon rejoined the fight. "Darn it…" he said, growling. "There's got to be something we can do!" he said, pacing irritably. "But without Dreadwings, we're useless here!"

Siria heard Drake's statement. "…He's right, there has to be something we can do…" the Phoenix said, trying to think. She looked at Blaze as he writhed in agony. "And my power isn't doing anything to help Blaze, Tyrania's curse is just too great for me to do a thing…"

Sparx looked down, then smirked as his eye caught something on the ledge below. "Hey, Siria, remember how you turned that Cocka-whatever thing into a monster?"

"Well it wasn't entirely my doing on purpose, but yes," said Siria in a confused tone.

"Think you can do it again?" asked Sparx, pointing to some ornamental statues mounted on the sides of the tower.

* * *

Demi and Ember strafed Tyrania from the sides, Demi hitting Tyrania in one eye with an Earth Bomb while Ember struck another with a Fire Bomb, causing Tyrania to roar out in agony. "We're hitting her with everything we've got, but even in the eyes, it doesn't hurt her enough…" Demi said, struggling to stay aloft and panting heavily, bruises and scrapes all over her body. "We're running out of time…" she stated before flying straight up to dodge a wing swipe from Tyrania but being blown back by the wind of it's passing.

Ember was sent flying back by Tyrania's wing, battered and bruised, like they all were. "All hitting her in the eyes is doing is make her roar…" she said, frustration mounting in her voice.

Cynder suddenly gasped, then smiled. "That's it, Ember!" she shouted.

Ember blinked. "It's not that hard to figure out…"

"No," replied Cynder quickly. "We shouldn't just be aiming for her eyes," she declared. "When I make her roar, aim for her mouth, ok?" she asked, getting a slightly confused nod. Cynder then flew forwards as Demi was blasted into the side of the castle with Shadow Fire, giving Cynder the opening to fly by Tyrania's head, sending a stream of poison into one of her eyes, causing her to let out a roar of pain.

Seeing the opening, Ember sent several Fire Bombs into Tyrania's gaping mouth. An explosion went off in her throat, causing Tyrania to roar out in pain, coughing and hacking as she was hit from within. "Good thinking, Cynder!" shouted Ember, watching Tyrania finally show true pain.

Tyrania snarled. "Don't think a lucky shot is enough to defeat me, I'm not done playing yet," she stated, a bit of noticeable anger in her voice. "And once I've captured you, the Dragon Realms will follow! And everyone who won't bow before me will perish!" she bellowed, letting out a roar, she spun around, launching Shadow Fire in all directions, managing to blast Cynder and Ember into the side of the volcano rim.

Demi and Spyro flew up behind her, barrel rolling in different directions to avoid the massive Gargoyle's tail as they did so. Demi swung an Earth Flail around, slamming it into one of her eyes, forcing Tyrania to roar in pain, allowing Spyro to send a stream of flames into her mouth, once more causing her to choke and cough in agony. Tyrania retaliated and swung around, slamming her wings into both and knocking them away. Tyrania then strafed them with her Shadow Fire, forcing all four dragons to scatter to evade. She then continued her assault with an Earth Shot before they could dodge again, blasting them all into the side of her castle.

Spyro groaned, blood streaming from a cut on his shoulder, the others also sporting visible wounds. "We've got to finish her off, and quick, I don't know how much more we can take. And we don't know how long Blaze and the Dragon Realms can hold out…" he said, the group ducking as Tyrania looked through the hole, her eye bigger than the entire hole.

"I know you're in there somewhere," said Tyrania, once more in her gleeful voice. "Come on out and play, it'd be so bothersome to have to wreck my castle, I just had it redone!" she said, slowly taking off and circling, watching the castle like a hawk watching it's prey.

* * *

Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer fired blast after blast down the hallway at the approaching horde of Gargoyles, but for every one they destroyed, three more seemed to take their place. "It's no use, Terrador! We can't hold the line!" called Cyril, freezing the group closest to them solid, panting with exhaustion. "There's just too many of them!"

Terrador panted heavily. He looked into the egg chamber, a dragon guarding the secret passage Ember had taken the eggs to nodding. "The eggs have all been moved, let's get into the tunnels!" he yelled, firing off a powerful Earth Shot before pulling back, the other two following. Locking the door to buy time, the three abandoned the temple and fled into the tunnels, sealing the secret passage's doors as they did so.

* * *

"She doesn't keep her mouth open long enough for us to charge up a Convexity attack, or even Ember's Blue Fire," said Spyro, trying to think as the group continued to hide in her fortress.

"Demi, think you can blast her eye?" asked Cynder. "The maybe I can use my Wind Sphere to combine Spyro and Ember's breath attacks into one and shoot it down her throat."

Demi nodded. "Sure, that's a good idea."

Ember snarled. "Let's take this bully down for good!" she stated, a mix of sorrow and rage still evident in her voice and face.

Spyro lead the group out of the castle, weaving through another Earth Shot sent their way. Spyro and Ember sent a pair of fire bombs at Tyrania, striking her nose and distracting her momentarily, allowing Demi to fly up and blast her eyes with an Earth Shot. However, Tyrania bit her tongue and swung her tail, trying to hit Demi. However, the Earth Dragoness managed to barrel roll to narrowly evade and drive her horns into Tyrania's eye, cracking it slightly and earning a huge roar of agony from Tyrania. Cynder took advantage charged up a Wind Sphere, Spyro and Ember feeding their Electric and Fire Breath respectively into it before she launched it.

Cynder's aim was perfect, sending the flaming, electrified Wind Sphere straight down Tyrania's throat. A massive explosion went off in the tyrant's neck. Smoke poured from her mouth as she let out a long, pained roar and plummeted from the sky, slamming into the lava below, a huge geyser of molten rock going high into the air from the impact.

Spyro watched this, panting heavily. "Did that do it?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the lava.

"I think so…" replied Cynder, fatigue clear in her face and voice.

Ember looked up, seeing the clouds still remained, causing her to gasp. "She's not dead!" she exclaimed, panic in her voice.

Before anyone could respond, Tyrania erupted out of the lava with a roar, slamming into all four with her massive wings and knocking them into the side of the caldera. She then dove down and grabbed them with her massive talons, making sure not to hurt them with those, instead letting them massive amount of heat coming off her superheated body do that. Tyrania let out a deranged, raspy laugh as she hovered above them. "Oh you think you're so smart, but you're nothing compared to me!" she yelled, fury in her eyes, her voice sharing the raspy sound and deranged tone of her laugh. "You know, I think I'll break out some extra toys just for you! We'll have so much fun as you're being horrifically tortured!"

Cynder squirmed, trying to free herself as Tyrania's red hot body burned her and her friends. "You haven't won yet!" she gasped, her breathing labored.

"We'll stop you!" yelled Ember, defiantly spitting a stream of fire into Tyrania's face, doing nothing more than enrage her further.

Tyrania snarled, then chuckled. "And just what are you going to do? You little insect?" she asked, smirking sadistically down at the Pink Dragoness, getting her face closer to the dragons. "You're just one little dragon against a god, what are you going to do that could hurt me?"

Ember's face contorted in fury. "This…" she growled, inhaling, heat coming off of Tyrania and into her own body before she discharged it in a massive blast of heat, hitting Tyrania right in the face with enough force to shatter the eye that Demi had cracked earlier to pieces. The infernal Empress howled in agony, releasing the group.

"Good job, Ember!" called Spyro as he and the rest of the group caught themselves.

Tyrania snarled in absolute fury. "That's it! I've had enough of this game! Forget Deadlock! I am going to _kill you!_" she roared, three remaining eyes glowing blood red as she let out a long, echoing roar. A swarm of Gargoyles emerged from the city below as well as the volcano, surrounding their empress as she started laughing hysterically. "This is MY land, MY lair," she snarled. "And you've forgotten that I've also got MY army!"

Spyro growled, determination burning in his eyes. "It doesn't matter! We're fighting for OUR land and OUR friends and family. You'll never win!" he retorted.

Tyrania let out another deranged laugh. "Really? I've got an army. Do you have an army? I don't see an army."

"Then you're not looking close enough!" yelled Drake's voice.

"Daddy?" asked Demi, looking up, past Tyrania's head as the massive Gargoyle looked up behind her.

Drake and his Apes were riding the statues from the tower, now flesh and blood. They were lion-like, mostly on their back half, with brown fur. The head and front legs resembled an Eagles, with brown fur and a yellow beak, a pair of brown, bird-like wings extending from their backs. Their eyes were like the Cockatrice's, glowing with fire.

"Well, they're not Dreadwings, but they'll do!" Drake shouted, patting the one he was riding on the head. "Come on, let's help them out!" he called, diving at Tyrania's Gargoyles, slashing through them while their rides opened fire with Air Cutters much like Cynder's, tearing through the Gargoyle hordes and routing them.

"Insects! Do you have any idea how much those Griffin Statues cost?" yelled Tyrania, firing Shadow Fire at the Apes, only for them to dodge agilely with their smaller mounts and cause her to obliterate some of her own Gargoyles.

"Hey Tyrania!" yelled Cynder, Demi in front of her. "Don't forget about us!" she yelled, firing her Wind Breath and launching Demi forwards, who surrounded herself in a boulder. She slammed into Tyrania's chest full force, driving the tyrannical Gargoyle backwards but still not managing to do much.

Tyrania snarled, blasting Demi backwards with a powerful gusts of wind. "I'm not finished yet…I'll NEVER be finished!" she yelled, flying forwards and grabbing the group in her talons. She flew around the caldera's edge, attempting to grind them into the side of it. The group pushed back with their legs to keep their main bodies from being ground against the volcano's side, Demi grabbing Tyrania's talons and using her tremendous strength to pull them apart, allowing the group to break free of the Gargoyle's grip.

The four dragons flew upwards as Tyrania changed direction and chased them, trying to bite them with her massive maw but they managed to dodge just barely. Spyro spun around and blasted Tyrania in the eye with his fire breath, stopping her in her tracks and letting the group put some distance between them and the monstrous Gargoyle. Tyrania soon continued to chase them, firing Shadow Fire and Earth Shots at them in a blind rage.

"There's got to be a way to end this!" said Spyro, continuing to flee the massive juggernaut as she tried everything in her power to destroy them, tearing the caldera to shreds with her assault as they weaved and dodged, heading out over the forest into more open air.

"Well firing down her throat seems to work, we just can't hit her hard enough…" said Cynder, dodging a Shadow Fire sent her way. As much as she hated to admit it, to Tyrania, all they were was an annoyance compared to her. They were all worn out and beaten up and the worst they'd done is give Tyrania a sore throat. "We need to get something in deep enough to hit something vital and finish this! We're not going to be able to keep this up much longer and she's not even getting tired!"

Ember gave it some though and then looked back at Tyrania's cavernous maw as she snapped at them once more. "Guys, I've got an idea, but it's kind of risky!"

Cynder and the group dove to avoid another Shadow Fire from Tyrania. "Anything! Let's just do it!" she yelled, looking back.

"Fly down her throat!" exclaimed Ember, a little uneasily.

Demi gasped. "Fly down her throat?" she asked, eyes wide in shock.

"I know it's dangerous, but we've got to stop her somehow and we're doing nothing out here!" yelled Ember, a serious look on her face. "And if we don't finish her soon, my dad and the entire Dragon Realms are doomed!"

"She's got a point, we don't have much else we can do!" said Cynder, her voice supportive. "We're doing nothing out here, if we get inside her, we might be able to get a kill shot in. Plus, we've already proved she's a lot softer on the inside than the outside so it's probably our best chance of putting her down for good!"

"Alright, let's do it," said Spyro, getting a serious look. "I hope this works…"

As Tyrania opened her mouth to bite down, the four turned around flew straight into her gaping maw, disappearing down her cave-like throat before her jaws slammed shut. Tyrania smirked, realizing she'd just swallowed the entire group in one bite. "Finally!" she roared, cackling in victory. "I've destroyed the last hope the Dragon Realms had left! Now they're mine! All mine! Everyone will bow down to worship Empress Tyrania!" she roared, giving a deranged laugh. She turned back to look at the volcano, which was now a good distance away. "Now to deal with those stupid primates before the-" she said, suddenly cringing as she felt a stabbing pain in the base of her neck. She then roared out in pain as a more horrible agony tore through her chest. "What's happening to me?"

* * *

Deep inside of Tyrania's body, the group blew a hole in the side of a chamber in her chest, landing and looking up at a huge, pulsating sphere in the center of the massive cavern. Throbbing stone lines ran from it to the rest of the chamber, red energy pulsing along them into the rest of Tyrania's massive form.

"That must be Tyrania's heart," said Spyro, looking up at it.

"Why does Tyrania even have a heart?" asked Demi, looking up at it in confusion. "She doesn't have blood…"

"Probably the same reason as the Destroyer," said Cynder, looking up at it. "To provide the magical energy for her body to function and pump it through her body. It's like blood for us. That means if we take it out, Tyrania will die," she explained, looking to the others.

"Then let's blow it up," said Ember, taking a firing position.

Spyro nodded. "Alright, let's hit it with everything we've got," he ordered, he, Cynder, and Ember beginning to concentrate. Spyro and Cynder began to glow purple and rose into the air as Ember's eyes lit up fiery blue and she was surrounded by an azure, fiery aura. Demi planted her feet into the soft rock she stood on, preparing an Earth Flail.

* * *

Tyrania panted, relaxing as the attacks ceased for a moment, before a look of pure horror entered her face as a realization hit her when she saw her chest begin to light up purple, blue, and green. "They wanted me to swallow them! They're going after my heart! And there's nothing I can do about it!" she exclaimed, her voice fearful for the first time. "This can't be happening! They-they tricked me? Children managed to deceive an eons old goddess?" she exclaimed in disbelief, before suddenly roaring out in tremendous and constant pain.

* * *

Spyro, Cynder, and Ember blasted the evil Gargoyle's black heart with Convexity and Blue Fire, keeping it up as their attacks tore away at the magical organ, red energy beginning to bleed out of forming cracks in the rock. Demi stood nearby, swinging her Earth Flail around and smashing it into the heart over and over again with all her strength. Finally, the organ exploded in a blast of red energy, the four Dragons flying back out the chamber through the hole they'd entered through.

* * *

Tyrania's let out one long roar of agony as she started falling limply towards the earth below, smoke billowing from her maw, the four dragons flying out along with it. "No this can't be happening!" said Tyrania, her voice weakly. "I, Empress Tyrania, Goddess of the Gargoyles…struck down by…by children? It's just not possible! I'm a goddess! A goddess!" she roared before letting out one last scream as she hit the ground, sending dust and trees flying up as if a meteor had hit. When the smoke settled, all that remained of the so called Gargoyle Goddess was rubble, the eyes on top part of her shattered head going black as all life left her.

* * *

Terrador carried up the rear of the group of dragons moving through the tunnels, carrying eggs along with them. He lobbed Earth Bombs at the approaching horde of Gargoyles, unable to see anything behind him but the stone terrors' red eyes. Suddenly, a Warrior Gargoyle flew out of the darkness and grabbed him by the neck, swinging a battle ax right at his head. Terrador cringed…but nothing happened.

He slowly opened his eyes, watching the Gargoyle's eyes go black, it's comrades following suit behind it. The stone creatures then began crumbling to rubble before his very eyes.

"My word…what do you think happened to them?" asked Cyril, watching wide-eyed in amazement as the imposing army crumbled to lifeless debris.

"I do believe there is only one logical explanation," said Volteer, nursing a badly wounded shoulder. "A miracle…" he said, leaving Cyril and the others staring at him in complete disbelief. "What? Not everything can be explained scientifically!"

"It most certainly is…" Terrador said, looking back to the group with a smile. "…Let's continue to Warfang. We can better protect the eggs there," he said, the group continuing down the tunnels towards Warfang. He looked back with a smile. "Thank you, young dragons…I don't know how…but I know you're behind our salvation once again…I hope the Ancestors continue to watch over you as they have been…" he stated, before continuing on.

* * *

"It's over…" said Cynder, struggling to keep herself in the air as she looked down at the rubble that used to be Empress Tyrania. She watched as the Gargoyle swarm the Apes had been holding off suddenly stopped in midair and fell to the ground, their life-force extinguished with that of their master. "For both Tyrania and her Gargoyles…good idea Ember, how'd you think of it?"

Ember smiled lightly, panting slightly. "I remembered how you guys killed the Destroyer, well, before Malefor came back to life…anyway, I remembered you guys had to fly down it's throat and destroy it's heart…since Tyrania was really big, it might work on her too…"

Spyro smiled. "Good thinking, Ember…"

Demi flew over to Drake, nuzzling him. "We won daddy…"

Drake smiled, rubbing her daughter's head as he let the tired little dragoness rest on his mount. "Yeah, you did great, sweetheart…I'll admit, I was worried at first when I saw her swallow you, but when I saw Tyrania's reaction, I knew you were hitting her where it hurt."

"Where'd those things come from?" asked Spyro, looking at the Griffins.

"Siria brought the ones on the tower to life so we could help," said Drake, putting his swords away.

Cynder nodded, then saw Ember taking off for the tower. "Blaze…" she said, panic filling her voice as she remembered the older dragon and followed her friend.

"Dad?" asked Ember, landing next to her now completely prone father, no movement at all coming from him. "Dad?" she asked, nudging him. "Wake up! Please, wake up!" she pleaded, tears filling her eyes as she tried desperately to wake her father.

"Ember…I'm so sorry…" said Siria with a grief filled voice, lowering her head solemnly. "I did all I could but…his heart just couldn't take the strain Tyrania's curse put him through…there was nothing I could do…"

Cynder lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Ember…" she said, sympathetically as she put a paw on Ember's shoulder.

"He's not gone! He can't be!" snapped Ember angrily, tears running down her face. "…Not after we just met up again!" she shouted miserably, nudging her father again and again. "Wake up! Please!…Please…" she cried, breaking down and sobbing as she put her head on Blaze's back, no longer hearing a pulse or breathing. "…Please…" she choked out. "Please!

Everyone present lowered their heads sympathetically, Cynder standing next to Ember for support, looking down at the heartbreaking scene before her. _"This must be what Spyro felt like inside when Ignitus died…"_ she thought, keeping her paw on Ember's back with a solemn look on her own face.

Siria was watching the cloud's clearing, ash scattered around the volcano glowing brightly as sunlight reached it, fully formed Phoenixes slowly rising from the ashes as infants.

Siria slowly looked into the lava below, preparing to dive in and join her people in rebirth…before looking back at Blaze's body and his now sobbing daughter. "Please don't die dad…" sobbed the poor little dragoness, her voice heartbroken and miserable.

Siria slowly looked back at the lava and her resurrected people, then looked back at Ember and Blaze, her eyes serious, but sorrow also clearly present in them as she approached the old dragon's body.

Ember sobbed heavily, face drenched in tears…then she felt heat radiating from her father. "Huh?" she asked, surprised as she looked over, seeing Siria with her wings on Blaze's head, bright orange energy pulsing from her into him. With each pulse, Blaze's body glowed a light orange momentarily. "What…what are you doing?" she asked, face contorting in confusion.

Siria didn't answer, she merely continued what she was doing. The energy continued to flow into Blaze's body, causing it to glow a soft orange with each pulse. His body's muscle tone slowly returned, his scars becoming undone and regenerating completely. Finally, an aura in the shape of a phoenix appeared around him, then faded as Siria panted, staggering back.

Blaze's chest slowly began to rise and drop with his breathing once more. Blaze groaned, eye opening slowly. "Ugh…Ember?" he asked, looking at Ember's shocked face. "Why are you crying, sweetheart?"

"Dad!" yelled Ember, hugging her father tightly, tears of joy replacing those of sorrow. "You're alive!" she cried, burying her head in his chest. "I thought I'd lost you!"

Cynder smiled. "Thank the Ancestors…" she said, a warm smile crossing her face.

Blaze hugged her back and nodded. "I know…I know…" he said, then nuzzled her, a grateful look on his face.

Ember nuzzled him back, then looked back to Siria. "You saved him! Thank you so much!"

Siria nodded, a sad smile on her face. "You're very welcome, Ember…" she said, a heavy bit of sorrow in her tone. "I'm very glad I could…"

Ember's face fell as she saw Siria's reaction. "Then why are you so sad?" she asked, concern in her voice as she looked at the ancient Phoenix.

Siria looked around at the reviving Phoenixes, no matter how few there were. "…Tyrania took Blaze's life…" she stated, raising her wing and looking at it. Small white embers began floating off of it, the same happening to her entire body starting with her feet. "…I gave him mine…"

Ember gasped, face falling, the same reaction going around the group. "So that means…"

Siria nodded slowly. "…Every time a Phoenix dies, it is in our nature to receive a new life, if the correct procedures were met…but we receive only one life to replace the one we lost, no more, no less. It can only be used once, by one person. And we don't get another until we die again. So to save Blaze's life…I had to give him the one I was allotted when I died the last time…"

Blaze slowly stood up. "Siria…thank you, but you didn't have to do this…I never asked you to give your life for mine," he said, looking at the Phoenix with sad eyes.

Siria looked back at him with a smile. "That's why I didn't give you the choice…" she explained in a comforting tone.

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Cynder, concern on her face.

Siria shook her head lightly. "No…this body is already deteriorating…the only way to save my life now would be for another Phoenix to make the same sacrifice…while I was always willing to make this sacrifice myself, it is something I could never ask of another for myself…" she explained, looking over the castle wall at her own people as they revived. "…Please…don't feel bad for me. While it is true I can no longer be with my people…I can finally be reunited with my beloved king after all this time…as well as the rest of my people who Tyrania killed permanently…" she stated, a peaceful look crossing her face as she looked at the sun.

Ember gave a sad smile as she saw Siria peacefully accept her fate. "I understand…will the Phoenixes be ok without you?"

Siria nodded slowly. "Yes, they will…" she looked to her people as they looked around the war torn caldera below. "It's best they don't even know I could've regenerated at all…thank you all," she said, smiling as she turned to the group. "You've given me something I've been waiting centuries to see…my race lives again, because of all of you. Because of that…I can pass on in peace."

"We were doing what was right, Siria…" said Spyro, a sad smile on his face as well. "…I think anyone with a heart would've done the same…"

Siria nodded, her face completely at peace. "And I wish you luck in your mission…may it go as well as this one did…farewell…my friends…May both your Ancestors and those of my people watch over you…I promise I will…" she said, her body vanishing into white embers that floated away slowly into the sky, vanishing from sight.

Ember watched her friend fade, smiling lightly as she saw the outline of two Phoenixes in the embers, embracing one another lovingly. "Goodbye, Siria…I'll never forget you…" she said gratefully. Ember turned and slowly nuzzled her father.

"We won't either…" said Spyro, watching the embers vanish.

"Boy…that was some way to go out…" said Sparx, watching wide-eyed. "Why is it that when old people die, it's always in some really awesome way?"

The group looked up at the sky silently as the last of the Embers vanished from sight.

* * *

A large, purple crystal and slowly rose and floated over the remains of the Gargoyle queen.

"_Crystal shining with mystic light_

_Take in this warrior's might_

_There is power that lies within_

_Allow that power to be taken…"_ sung Cyros, standing nearby playing her guitar, which glowed as the purple crystal emitted an energy field around the remains, green and black energy surging into it.

"_Crystal of power do my will_

_Let within you this power fill_

_And transfer that power to another_

_Let the power flow from one to the other,"_ she sung, the crystal's energy field fading before it flew towards her hand, where she caught it.

"So your plan was to use that spell to steal the power of the loser?" asked Kage, slithering over.

Cyros nodded, looking at the crystal with a smirk. "Exactly. Cynder used that spell to steal the Guardians' power and transfer it to Malefor to restore his power so he could break free from his prison, it failed of course, but in my case, I don't need the power for that," she said, running a finger over the crystal's side. "If Tyrania had won, I'd have snuck into the dungeon and stolen the power from Spyro's group and made it mine…I'll probably do that anyway when they reach mom's lair if she beats them."

"Cyros…are you sure you should do this?" asked Kage, worry in his face at the corse of action. "Tyrania was pure evil. There's no telling what might happen if you absorb her essence."

Cyros chuckled. "I'm sure. Trust me, if that could be transferred, it'd have made Malefor less evil from absorbing the Guardian's power, wouldn't it?" she asked, smirking.

"But Malefor was pure evil incarnated," said Kage in pleading tone. "Please think this over before you do it. Have I ever lead you wrong before?"

Cyros' face fell as she looked down at the crystal thoughtfully, energy crackling softly through it as she did so…

* * *

Well Empress Tyrania has met her well deserved demise, but this story is far from finished. Next, we enter the Naga lands and see what Deadlock has in store for our heroes!

I have an **important announcement** as well. This fic is now intended to be the first in a trilogy of fics, keyword is _intended. _Each is going to be relatively self contained and building off the previous one, but will be closed enough that it can end with that fic incase something comes up. This is because I've had trouble writing series of fics before and don't want that to happen and leave you guys hanging with a cliffhanger if I don't have to. Anyway, see you next time as we continue this fic!


	21. The Road Ahead

Alright, everyone! Time to continue the story! Now we're getting into Naga turf, what does Empress Tyrania have in store for the group this time? We'll just have to wait and see!

* * *

**The Road Ahead**

Deadlock continued her preparations. "Almost there," said the ice head. "Only a week until the eclipse and our dreams come to fruition," she continued, smiling as she dropped a few more ingredients into the lava.

"Grendel," said the electric head, looking to the giant Naga who watched from nearby. "Thank you so much for finding this spell for us"

Grendel bowed. "You're welcome, my queen. It was in an old spell book in our library."

"Well we're glad you've found it," said the fire head. "I just wish it didn't come with such a steep price…" she said, looking at the eggs sadly.

"It's little surprise magic performed on the day of the eclipse requires a hefty price," replied Grendel. "It's a symbol of the Hydra, the Naga spirit of war. As the moons overwhelm the sun, so too does one side overwhelm the other in battle. But like the eclipse, war is a constant that will exist throughout time."

Deadlock nodded. "It makes sense…" said the fire head, thoughtfully. "War is indeed a constant in our world, isn't it?"

"My queen!" a Naga called as he burst into the room. "We've just received word from our spies in the Forgotten Forest. Tyrania has been killed!"

Deadlock sighed lightly. "We figured as much…" said the ice head. "Tyrania's weakness is she was all brawn, no strategy. In battle, her tactic is smash it till it's dead. She may have been a sharp mind eons ago, but she's grown rusty in her time with no threats to her position."

"Not that we'll mourn her," replied the fire head, giving a snarl. "She was a sadistic tyrant, part of us is glad to see her go down."

"Indeed," said the ice head. "That's why we overthrew the previous queen, the tyrant that she was. The Naga deserved much better than her. If the Gargoyles were able to outlive Tyrania, they'd deserve better too."

"And what of her invasion of the Dragon Realms?" asked Grendel, giving a curious glance to the smaller Naga.

"It managed to overwhelm the temple, but the Guardians and all the eggs survived, that's what the spies said anyway," explained the Naga. "With Tyrania's demise, all the Gargoyles perished, stopping the invasion in it's tracks."

Grendel snarled lightly but nodded. "Alright, that's all. You're dismissed," he said, ordering the Naga out.

"Tyrania launched an invasion?" asked Deadlock's ice head, looking back at him with a confused glance. "Why weren't we informed?" she asked, giving a admonishing glare Grendel's way.

"O-oh, well y-you were busy, my queen," said Grendel, stammering slightly from surprise. "It was a Gargoyle and Dragon issue, Tyrania did not request our assistance in the invasion and we certainly are not allies with the Dragons, so I didn't think you should be bothered with something that didn't involve us when you're so busy with important matters of your own."

Deadlock nodded. "Yes…yes, you're right," said the ice head, giving a thoughtful look. "Anyway, since Tyrania couldn't capture Spyro and Cynder for us, we'll need to send the Commanders to do the job," she said. "When is Venti expected back from his assignment?"

"He successfully captured his targets a day ago and is on his way back, he should be here soon," said Grendel.

"Good, send him to us when he arrives," said Deadlock's fire head, smirking. "He'll enjoy tormenting Spyro and Cynder."

"Yes," said the ice head. "We have a special assignment for him in Iron Canyon, that's where our friends will have travel through next."

"Oh he'll love it!" said the electric head, giving a smile. "After all, he grew up near there didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," said the ice head. "And knows the area well. That and all the iron laying around there is perfect for that special project he's been working on."

Grendel nodded, bowing. "Yes, my queen, I will send him as soon as he arrives. I'll also send word to the forces we have there to be prepared!" he said, slithering out of the room.

Grendel sighed as he walked down a hallway. "So Empress Tyrania has failed, it's no surprise really," he said, shaking his head. "I put the Dragon Realms out for her on a silver platter and she can't even destroy the eggs or kill a single Guardian, oh well," he continued, heading out to the edge of the cave. "Kaze failed to get that rotten little prince out of my way as well. Who'd have thought such a peace loving little dragon could defeat such a powerful enemy…no matter, I've got other ways of dealing with him…" he mused, giving a sly smirk.

* * *

_Spyro's eyes opened, looking up at the sky. The celestial moons each appeared, slowly moving closer to the sun. "The eclipse…" he said, watching this happen. He then saw a bright glow appear before him, splitting into a glowing orange jewel and a glowing blue jewel. The blue was a sun, with a crescent cut out of it, the orange a crescent moon. As the eclipse occurred, the two jewels moved together, setting together perfectly._

* * *

Spyro groaned, waking up from the strange vision. "What was that?" he asked, blinking. His shoulder was now fully healed from being wounded by Cynder's tail blade, by a jagged scar ran through it.

"What was what?" asked Sparx, yawning and getting up, he and Spyro all on a bed in the former castle of Empress Tyrania.

"Oh nothing…it was just a dream…" said Spyro, a perplexed look on his face. He shrugged and then stretched his back. "Where's Cynder?" he asked, looking around.

"Don't know," said Sparx, looking as well. "Guess she woke up early."

Spyro got up and headed out to find her. As he moved down the hallway, Phoenixes were busying themselves removing the Gargoyle portraits and doing renovations. "Is it just me, or have a lot of these Phoenixes grown in the two days we've stayed here?" asked Sparx, looking around in confusion.

"Well they're all reborn from before," replied Spyro, catching a picture that fell off the wall and handing it to a Phoenix. "I guess the older ones just grow up to a adults quickly."

Ember ran up. "Hey Spyro!" she said, stretching her wings. "Good morning."

"Good morning Ember," said Spyro, smiling warmly. "Have you seen Cynder?"

Ember nodded. "She's outside, with some little Phoenixes. Said she had promised some of the big ones she'd babysit."

Spyro nodded. "Thank you, Ember," he replied, heading out, Ember following along. When he got outside, Cynder was playing with baby Phoenixes just as Ember said, gently letting them chase her paw around. Spyro gave a warm smile and walked over. "Morning Cynder," he said, giving her a nuzzle.

Cynder nuzzled him back. "Good morning, Spyro," she said, looking down at the babies. "Just watching these babies while their parents are busy remodeling the castle."

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, I thought they'd destroy Tyrania's castle after all she'd done to them…"

Ember smiled. "Well one of them told me that they don't like letting anything go to waste," she said, looking up at the castle, which was already looking less frightening now that the clouds were gone. "The castle is here, so they decided to make the best of it."

Cynder looked up at the castle. "I guess that makes sense for a race whose life cycle revolves around death and rebirth…" she said, looking down at the baby Phoenixes, petting one on the head and getting a cute chirp from it.. She then frowned lightly. "These Phoenixes were killed as little children…that's why they aren't growling up quickly like the rest…"

Spyro frowned. "Yeah…You're worried about our egg, aren't you?" he asked, getting a sad nod from Cynder. "I am too…think we've rested enough? We should move out today."

Ember nodded. "I agree…but…" she said, her face falling. "We can't take my dad with us…or Drake either…"

Sparx blinked. "Wait, what? Why?" he asked, looking at Ember like she was crazy. "Why wouldn't we want a multi-ton dragon or a giant Ape with us when we fight old three heads and her cronies?" he exclaimed. Ember looked at him, solemnly. Sparx's face suddenly fell and he rubbed the back of his awkwardly. "Oh yeah…Tyrania nearly killed your dad…"

Cynder nodded, giving Ember a sympathetic look. "And unlike Tyrania, Deadlock is _targeting_ our loved ones directly…"

Spyro sighed. "You're right…she already kidnapped Hunter for that reason…" he muttered, looking down sadly. "If we took Blaze and Drake with us, she'd target them just to hurt us."

Ember nodded lightly. "I chose to be a part of this. I knew it'd be dangerous from the start…Demi, Blaze, and Drake weren't a part of this at all…we shouldn't make them a part of it…"

* * *

A knock came on Deadlock's door. "Come in," said the electric head, looking back as the others put more ingredients into the lava pit.

The door opened and in crawled a large Naga wearing green armor, which had golden trim running down the chest and large shoulder pads. He was brown in color with a rattlesnake-like head and the telltale rattle at the tip of his tail. A black diamond pattern ran down his back and sides, but he also had green, cyclone-based tattoos running down his head, down his back, and down his arms as well. He was about the same size as Hades had been and carried a clear globe in hand.

"Ah, Commander Venti," said the ice head. "Welcome home, did the mission go as planned?"

"Sssee for your ssself," hissed Venti, his voice cold and sadistic. He gave an unnervingly creepy smirk, holding up the sphere he held, inside were two dragonflies, one a dark blue with a muscular upper body while the other was pink female, though her chest, lower arms, and lower body were a light blue color.

"Ah, hello there," said the ice head, looking down at them. "You're Nina and Flash; Spyro's adopted family, are you not?"

The pink one glared lowly. "What do you want with Spyro?" she yelled, looking at Deadlock with no fear in her eyes.

"Nina, be careful," said the other one, pulling his wife back. "That's a dragon we're dealing with."

"I don't care! You heard what he said when he kidnapped us! She's after our son, Flash!" replied Nina, fury in her face.

"Venti," said the ice head, looking to the commander. "You've done well, you shall be rewarded but please leave us, we wish to talk to them, we've told Grendel what your orders will be…"

Venti nodded, placing the sphere containing the two dragonflies on a pedestal nearby. "Ssssee you later…" he hissed, rattling his tail menacingly with a creepy chuckle as he whipped around the two dragonflies then out of the room.

Deadlock looked at the two Dragonflies. "You're mad at us, aren't you?" asked the electric head, frowning slightly.

"Of course I'm mad! You're trying to hurt my son!" yelled Nina, fury clear in her eyes.

"…The fury of a mother protecting her child…" said the ice head, her face falling in sadness. "…We know exactly how you feel…" she continued, looking at the dragonflies. "…That's why we're doing this, in fact…" she explained, sorrowfully, looking to the eggs. "…24 years ago…we were a mother as well…we had a mate and were happy…" she explained, the other two heads gaining sorrowful looks as well. "That was the first time in our life we were truly happy…"

"…And all of it was taken away…" said the electric head, none of her normally cheery tone present, it replaced by sorrow and heartache. "We lost everything in one night…our eggs were destroyed…and Andreas lost his life…"

The fire head snarled, smoke rising from her nose. "And it's because of _your_ son! Malefor attacked the temple because of Spyro!" she growled in fury, before her face fell in sorrow once more.

Deadlock turned and slowly walked to look in her lava pit. "That was the worst day of our entire life…" said the ice head, head low, eyes closed.

"…Several years later…during the war…" started the electric head, tears in her eyes. "…We received word our five children from our original clutch had been killed in the war…" she said, a tear running down her cheek.

The fire head gave a fierce snarl, smoke bellowing from her nose. "By Cynder!" she snarled, rage filling her eyes.

"…We're telling you this…because maybe you can understand why we're doing this…" the ice head said, looking back over her shoulder at them. "You're parents…you'd do anything to protect your offspring…or avenge them if they were killed…wouldn't you?"

Nina's face fell as Deadlock spoke, a look of sympathy entering it. "…I can't understand how you felt…no one could…" she said, not breaking eye contact.

Flash nodded, a look of sympathy on his face as well. "…But you're right…we'd do anything to protect our children…that much we can understand."

"But…" said Nina, trying to continue. "What is your name?"

"Deadlock…" answered the ice head as the three-headed dragoness turned to look at them.

"Deadlock…two wrongs don't make a right," said Nina, her voice stern, but calm. "How does revenge on someone who wasn't even born when it happened make things right? It won't bring your children or your mate back to life…"

Flash nodded, looking to Nina, then back to Deadlock. "…And Cynder's changed…she's not that dragon anymore…" he explained, with a similar stern, but calm voice. "…You take your revenge, and then what? We take revenge on you?" he asked, a serious tone as he gave Deadlock a piercing glare. "When will that come to an end?"

Deadlock was silently, her face thoughtful. "…We wish we could say you're right…" said the ice head, looking back at them, all three heads turning to a hateful glare. "But you're not…we've gone too far to turn back now! We were a fool to think you'd be able to understand us!" she growled. "…You haven't lost everything you loved, watched it be taken away from you while you're helpless to do a thing to stop it…you haven't watched you mate bleed to death right in front of you…you'll never understand…" she stated, her face softening lightly before rage once more filled it.

"Naga! Get them out of our sight!" called all three heads, fury in their voices. "Put them with the other prisoner!" she yelled, a Naga picking up the globe and heading off.

"Deadlock…" said Nina, sorrow in her eyes as she looked back at the dragoness. "…It's never too late to do what's right…there's still time for you to do the right thing…"

Deadlock's faces softened as she turned away. "For you, maybe…" said her ice head, a look of sadness filling her face. "…For us…it already is…" she said, walking over and continuing her ritual as the two dragonflies were taken away. "Even if we stopped now…they'd never forgive us for what we've already done to them…"

* * *

Grendel handed Venti a purple liquid in a tiny glass vial. "Do you understand your missions?" he asked, looking down at the smaller Naga.

"Yesss, I do," hissed Venti, taking the container and putting it in his belt.

Grendel nodded, but had an uneasy look on his face. "Just go to Iron Canyon and carry out _both_ plans," he said, snarling down at Venti. "And if you see Pyrus, take care of him…I can't have that little peace lover wreaking my plans. But don't let any Naga know about that part, use your…pet project for most of this. Got it?"

"Yesss, General Grendel," hissed Venti. "And I'll make ssssure it's a time that Sssspyro and Cynder will never forget!" he hissed, a sadistic smirk crossing his face as he slithered off with a rattle.

Grendel gave a shiver. "What a freak…" he muttered, watching the rattler-like Naga slither off.

"Well you picked him, Grendel," said a female voice from the shadows behind him. Another commander Naga slithered from the darkness, this one bright yellow in color with a viper-like head, spikes coming off the bridge of her eyes which somewhat resembled eyelashes. This one wore a brown robe with gold trim covering her chest down to the ground, the long sleeves big enough to conceal her hands. She had a rocky, brown tattoo running down her back and arms, just like the other commanders.

Grendel smiled lightly. "Commander Gaia…" he said, his voice softening. He slithered over and embraced her. "Well, not every one of my followers are as lovely as you are."

Gaia smiled, her eyes soft and compassionate as she gazed into his eyes. "Well, Hades followed you for his greed, Venti just because he's a sadistic psychopath who adores killing people. As for me?" she explained, tapping his nose lightly. "I follow you for a much different reason."

Grendel pulled her closer. "And that's why you're my most trusted ally," he said, the two leaning in and kissing.

* * *

"Wait, you don't want us to go with you?" asked Blaze, a concerned look on his face, standing next to Drake, the four young dragons in front of them.

Ember nodded solemnly. "Dad…Tyrania _killed _you, Siria sacrificed herself to bring you back…and next time, there _won't _be someone there to bring you back…" she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "

"And Deadlock is actively targeting our loved ones," explained Cynder, her tone and face absolutely serious. "Taking the Apes and you guys with us would be putting you at risk. Ember knew that coming into this and came…we can't put you in harms way."

"Please…" said Ember, looking up at her father, tears running down her face. "…Go back to the Dragon Realms, see mom again…but don't come with us…I can't lose you…not again…"

Blaze looked at his daughter softly. "…Are you sure you'll be ok?" he asked, concern clear in his face.

Ember nodded, looking up at him. "I will…I promise…I'm strong now…"

Blaze nodded lightly, nuzzling his daughter lovingly. "…Alright, I really want to see your mom again anyway…But watch yourself, promise me…"

Ember gave him a serious nod. "I promise," she said, moving her claw over her heart in a cross. "Cross my heart…"

Blaze hugged her. "I love you…" he said, smiling lightly.

Ember smiled back, looking up at Blaze. "I love you too, dad…"

Drake looked to Spyro. "Well I've done what I intended to do…" he said, a peaceful look on his face. "I don't know if I'll ever make up for what I did…but I feel closer than I've ever been…I wanted to defeat the Gargoyles and free their victims, so I'm perfectly fine with heading back…you sure the Dragons will accept us though?"

Spyro nodded. "Blaze can vouch for you. I've wrote a letter as well," he said, looking up at the huge Ape and handing him a letter with his own paw print on it in black ink. "Since the temple was probably attacked by Tyrania's drones, they'll probably have headed to Warfang."

"Understood and thank you," said Drake with a grateful voice, giving a thoughtful look as he took the letter. "Be careful out there," he stated. "Deadlock is far more cunning than Tyrania, and will be able to fight you in close quarters. Tyrania's size was to her detriment to some degree as it made her have trouble fighting such a small target compared to her. Deadlock will be a far more dangerous foe than Tyrania was, and the Naga are far smarter than the brainless Gargoyles."

Cynder nodded. "Thanks Drake, we'll be as careful as we can…but those eggs Deadlock has…there's no telling what she's planning with them…we'll have to do anything we can to get them back…we have to get out egg back as well…"

Drake put a paw on her shoulder. "I know. I also know you'll get them back, I have faith in all of you."

Spyro looked up at Sparx. "Sparx…are you sure you want to come? It'll only get more dangerous from here on out…and Deadlock is targeting our family and friends…"

Sparx shook his head. "Me? Leave you to go to fight a three headed psycho by yourself?" he asked, giving a chuckle. "Not a chance, pal," he said, giving an honest smile.

Spyro smiled back at his brother. "Thanks Sparx…"

Ember looked up at Sparx. "Sparx…thanks for helping me beat the Warden," she said, smiling gratefully. "Now I know how Spyro feels to have you always watching his back."

Sparx blinked, then robbed the back of his head with a shy smile. "You're welcome…I guess…"

"Alright, everyone," said Cynder, taking the map out and putting it on the ground in front of them. "According to this map, we'll have to go through a Naga controlled area called the Iron Canyon first."

"No problem, we just fly over," said Ember, looking down at the map.

Drake shook his head. "No, I don't think that's a good idea…"

Sparx blinked. "Why not? We fly over it and we don't have to fight through a cannon of death. Seems like a pretty good idea to me."

"Because the Naga's land is prone to thunderstorms, once you reach the outskirts, it'll be too dangerous to fly for long periods," explained Drake, pointing to the boundary on the map. "Particularly for Cynder, whose got metal blades bonded to her."

Sparx sighed. "Why can't we ever go through a nice, tropical beach?"

"So once we get to Naga lands, we'll have no choice but to walk or fly low to the ground," said Cynder, looking at the map.

"In that case, we'd better get going," said Spyro, seriously. "The eclipse is coming and we've already taken a two day rest."

Ember nuzzled her father. "Goodbye, dad," she said, smiling brightly up at him. "Tell mom I'm doing ok."

Blaze smiled. "I will, watch your back and say safe," he said, nuzzling her back.

"Alright, let's get going," said Cynder, rolling up the map.

"Hey, that reminds me," said Sparx, looking at Cynder. "Where the heck have you been keeping that map anyway?"

Cynder blinked. "Oh," she said, lifting her wing and sliding it into the shadow under it. "My shadow element let's me store stuff in shadows."

Sparx blinked. "Oh…right…" he replied, watching the group start off before sighing. "Why is my life so weird?" he asked, before following.

* * *

Demi set next to Drake, watching the trio of dragons take off on the second part of their adventure, a rather uncertain look on her face as she watched them longingly.

"Demi," said Drake, getting her attention. "…You want to go too, don't you?" he asked, a slight bit of concern in his otherwise supportive voice.

Demi nodded slowly. "Daddy…I want to be the Earth Guardian…I've decided that…" she stated, determination in her voice. "…I feel like if I want to be someone who is meant to help others…I should start with my friends…"

Drake smiled, putting a hand on her back. "That sounds like a wise choice, Demi…you know it'll be dangerous?"

Demi nodded. "I do…but so was my entire life out here…I'm always uncertain about things, about trusting people other than you…but this is the most certain I've ever been about anything in my entire life…"

Drake nodded slowly. "…Go…" he said, voice supportive. "If you're truly certain about something, then you must know in your heart it's what you should do…"

Demi smiled, jumping up and nuzzling Drake. "Thanks daddy, I love you…I'll miss you…" she said, looking up at him.

Drake smiled back warmly, petting her head. "I love you too, but I'll be waiting for you when you return…do your best and remember, I'll always be proud of you, Demi," he said, moving back. "Goodbye, Demi…"

"Bye, daddy…" said Demi, slowly turning away from her father and giving one last look to him before spreading her wings, taking off after Spyro, Cynder, Ember, and Sparx.

Blaze looked to Drake. "…She'll be fine…" he said, smiling. "She's a strong girl…so is mine…they're in good hands and are old enough to take care of themselves…"

Drake nodded. "I know…" he said, smiling lightly. "…Now it's our turn to get going," he continued, turning and starting off to pack up.

* * *

"Guys!" shouted Demi, flying up on the group.

"Demi?" asked Cynder, blinking in confusion as she turned around to see the little Earth Dragoness fly up. "Demi? What are you doing here?"

"…I've decided I'm going to be the Earth Guardian…" said Demi, a serious look on her face. "And I want to come with you…"

Spyro looked back at Demi with a concerned look. "Demi…it'll be dangerous…"

"I know…" said Demi, no uncertainty in her voice. "But I want to…please, let me come…I've never been so sure of myself in deciding something in my entire life…I want to help you."

Ember looked to the others. "Guys…I know how she feels…" she explained, hovering next to Demi. "When I was in the mines and found out I was the only one who could save my dad…I felt the same way…that it was something I had to do…And I felt like I had to do something to earn the right to be the Fire Guardian…I had to prove myself worthy of it instead of just having it handed to me…though in my case, lot of it is because someone told me that I couldn't…"

Spyro blinked. "What happened?" he asked, concerned.

Ember sighed, thinking back. "…There was this big mean Fire Dragon…"

* * *

**Flashback**

Ember was sitting out on the balcony to the temple, looking out into the distance. "…I'm not sure what to do…it's a big honor after all…but I don't know if I'm ready…."

"Of course you aren't," said a rather dignified and refined voice. Ember turned to see a rather large Fire Dragon standing behind her. He was a deep red in color, his stomach yellow as well as his wing membranes. He had dark yellow eyes and two large, purple horns that curved upwards off his head, purple, backwards pointing spines running the length of his back. He also wore golden gauntlets on his front legs, his long tail ending in an arrow-like purple tip. "I can't believe this, they give the title of Fire Guardian to a little, insignificant girl with the emotional maturity of a child."

Ember growled slightly. "What do you know?" she asked, a slight bit of fear in her voice as she stared up at the much larger dragon. "They chose me for a reason!"

The dragon gave a dark chuckle. "Indeed they did, for being the last remnant of your Year of the Dragon clutch's Fire Dragons, nothing more, nothing less," he stated, bitterness clear in his voice. "That's something I have always seen as foolish, choosing a child to train for the job instead of simply place an adult who is far more deserving into the position."

"What do you mean?" asked Ember, trying to sound brave but her face fell as she thought out his words.

"Simple, young dragon," said the larger dragon, looking straight down into her face, baring his teeth lightly, allowing Ember to see two tusks jutting up from his lower jaw next to his snout. "Let's compare the two of us, shall we? I have served valiantly in in the army most of my life, never failing the Guardians even once. I am a powerful dragon with total mastery over the element of fire," he continued, then looked down at her with a low growl. "You are a little girl whose knowledge of fire is basic at best and who in her entire life up to this point has done nothing of value whatsoever," he said, giving a small chuckle as Ember whimpered lightly and looked unsure. "They should have chosen someone like me, not a pathetic little girl like you who was not even raised in the Dragon Realms!" he growled, his eyes glaring enviously down at the young dragoness before him. "The entire Dragon Realms respects Spyro and Cynder because they've done something, I can understand that. A little girl whose life up until now has had no meaning being handed the position of Guardian on a silver platter?" he asked, looking down at Ember hatefully with such malice the young dragoness took a few steps back. "Well, I think that speaks for itself. You do not deserve to be the Fire Guardian, you never have, and never will. You are nothing but a little girl given a lot responsibility and power she has no idea what to do with, simply because she was born in just the right time," he stated, looking her in the eye. "And when that responsibility finally makes you snap like a twig, I will be back to claim what is rightfully mine," he threatened, then gave a growl and spread his wings, taking off into the distance.

Ember watched him leave, shaking like a leaf with a dejected look on her face.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

Ember gave a sigh. "The Guardians said that Dragon had been considered for the role of Fire Guardian but they were going to turn him down even if I hadn't shown up…" she said, thinking. "They said he was far too violent and greedy to ever make a good Guardian…still, his words hurt…"

Cynder nodded, putting a paw on her shoulder. "I know how that feels. But you know he was wrong, right?" she asked in a reassuring tone.

Ember nodded, giving a small smile. "Yeah, that's why I'm able to tell you now…I proved him wrong and earned my right to be Fire Guardian…" she said, giving a smile as she thought. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is even though a lot of it was his fault I felt like that, I wouldn't feel like I deserve to be Fire Guardian if I hadn't gone through with this and felt like I'd earned it. It'd just seem empty to be handed something based on birthright without actually earning it…I think Demi needs that chance too…"

Spyro looked thoughtfully, then nodded. "When I helped Ignitus free the Dragon Temple, I felt the same way. I'd accepted I was Purple Dragon…but after that, I felt like I'd earned the right to be…I agree…"

Cynder gave a quick nod. "Same here…it's a lot better to take on an important position if you honestly feel like you've earned it…Demi, if you feel like you should go, you can come. But be very careful, ok?"

Demi nodded. "Thank you all…this is very important to me and I'm glad you're letting me do it…"

Spyro smiled. "You're welcome…now come on, let's get going, we've got a long way ahead of us."

* * *

Spyro touched the group down in a clearing, looking out at the nearby canyon, a thunderstorm stirring overhead and the sky growing dark. "It's too late to start into Iron Canyon tonight," said Cynder, looking at the sky.

Demi nodded, panting, wings drooping. "I'm really tired…sorry, I'm just not used to flying long distance…" she said, remorsefully.

"It's alright, Demi," said Cynder, putting a paw on the shy dragoness' shoulder. "It's not a problem."

Ember smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Cynder's right. I get worn out flying a long time to."

Spyro looked around. "Looks like it's going to rain anyway," he said, looking at the cloudy sky. "We need to find shelter, and quick."

Cynder and Ember slowly looked around. "I don't see a cave or anything anywhere…" said Cynder in a frustrated voice. "We can't spend the night out in the rain, we'll get sick."

"Me and mom always built a fort out of trees, we bent them over and tied them to the ground with vines," explained Ember, before her face fell. "But she did the bending, I don't think we can do it alone…"

Before anyone could say anything, Demi flew up and grabbed the top of a tree, slowly bending it down to the ground and spiking it into the ground. "Like this?" she asked in a muffled voice as she held the tree bent down.

Ember nodded, blinking. "Yeah, like that…" she said, amazed. "Wow! You sure are strong!"

Spyro and Cynder got some vines and tied the tree to the ground. They did this with about three trees, forming a small dome over them that kept most of the now starting rain out. "Great job Demi," said Spyro, smiling to her.

"Yeah, good thing you came," said Sparx, looking around the "fort". "I don't like being wet."

Demi got hot under the scales. "Thanks…I might not be experienced, but I'm strong…" she said in a sheepish tone, giving a shy smile. "I'm just doing what I can…"

Cynder patted her on the back. "That's all we can do, you did great," she said, then yawned. "I'm tired. We should get some sleep."

Sparx looked around the empty clearing. "On what?"

Ember smirked. "That's where what I can do comes in handy," she said, heading over to the forest.

* * *

Pyrus slowly walked along with Delilah, all his wounds having healed up. However, Pyrus now had a jagged scar on his back "So you're really over 200 years old?" he asked, amazement in his tone.

Delilah nodded, smirking. "Yeah, 250 years, 4 months, two weeks, and 5 days to be exact but whose counting?" she stated in a rapid speech.

Pyrus nodded slowly, listening very carefully. "Must be really cool. You've probably seen a lot of things, huh?"

Delilah gave a chuckle as she nodded. "Yep, that's right," she stated. "…Well after I stopped being a thief…" she said, looking down with a slightly ashamed look.

Pyrus put a paw on her back, giving her a reassuring look. "You _stopped_ and you returned what you stole. You're reformed, there's no need to be ashamed anymore."

Delilah looked up at him with a soft smile. "…Yeah…it looks like I'm not the only one good at giving advice," she replied, rising up to look at him. "I have a feeling you'll be a great king one day…" she said, then saw Pyrus' face fall in response. "What's wrong?"

Pyrus sighed. "…I never wanted to be king…" he muttered, solemnly. "…I wanted my sister to be the heir, not me…but then 12 years ago, mom decided for us…"

* * *

**Flashback**

"Here you go, Cyros," said Pyrus, placing a stone crown on her head. The two of them were much smaller, with undersized wings. Cyros' long neck had yet to grow out to full length, so she lacked the spiked collar she wore there today, but had the ones on her legs. The ax blade grafted to her tail was also missing, just a simple bone blade. Neither of the two had their tattoos either, and Pyrus had both his horns unbroken. Kage stood nearby, keeping a constant eye on the children.

Cyros smiled, looking at it. "Thank you Pyrus," she said, eyes sparkling. "It's beautiful! Thank you so much!"

Pyrus smiled, nodding. "You're welcome," he replied. "The future queen should have a crown, right?"

Cyros chuckled. "Yeah, I guess…you're sure you're alright with it?"

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah, I don't want to be king, it's too much work," he replied. "I promise, I don't want to be the king. I think you'd do better than me anyway."

Cyros smiled, looking at the crown. "Thanks…you're a good brother, you know that?"

Pyrus smiled and nuzzled his sister. "You're a good sister too."

"Kids," called Deadlock's ice head as the three headed dragoness walked in.

"Mom!" called both, running over to their mother.

Deadlock smiled, nuzzling her children with all three heads. "How are our little ones today?" asked the electric head.

"We're good mom," said Pyrus, smiling up at his mother.

"Good," said the fire head, a truly genuine smile on her face. "Now Pyrus, we need to talk to you in private, ok?"

Pyrus nodded, then looked to Cyros. "We'll play later, ok?"

Cyros nodded, smiling. "Ok," she said, then ran towards Kage.

Deadlock lead Pyrus into the throne room, a beautiful room with a large golden throne with red fabric covering the seat and top. "Pyrus…you and Cyros are both 12 years old now," said the ice head. "It's time for us to choose our heir…and that will be you," she said, all three heads looking back to Pyrus.

Pyrus' face dropped. "But mom…"

"I know, you're probably nervous, but it'll be fine, you'll be a wonderful king," said the electric head, nuzzling him.

Pyrus nuzzled her back, but then looked up at Deadlock seriously. "Mom…what about Cyros? I think she'd be a much better leader than me…"

Deadlock's three faces fell. "…We already thought of that, Pyrus," the ice head said, sadness in her voice. "We know Cyros wants to be the queen, and we think she could be a very good one…but you see…"

"There's a Naga law…" explained the electric head with a sight. "One not even we're able to change, we're afraid…"

Pyrus gave a concerned look. "What law?"

"It says that the leader's first born child must be the first heir," explained the fire head, detest in her voice. "Being the first born is apparently very important among the Naga, not so much to us of course but it is to them…we can't do anything…and you hatched first…"

Pyrus sighed, shaking his head. "I don't want to be prince…"

Deadlock lifted his head with her paw. "Don't worry, Pyrus. We're sure there's a way, or a position that Cyros can take instead…we've got to play this the Naga's way. Just because we killed the Naga Queen and took her place doesn't mean that we get to make all the rules…"

Pyrus nodded slowly, understanding. "Alright…I guess I'll be the king…"

Deadlock smiled. "Good, we'll start the training soon…" she said, nuzzling her son and guiding him to the throne, but the young dragon didn't smile…

**Flashback Over**

* * *

Pyrus looked down sorrowfully as he finished. "…I wanted to just resign and name her my successor when I became king…but Cyros got mean and distant after that, whenever I tried to talk to her about it, she'd cut me off and insult me or something…"

Delilah sighed, putting a paw on his back. "You think she found out about you accepting, don't you?"

Pyrus nodded sorrowfully. "I just wish she'd give me the chance to explain that to her…" he said in a miserable tone. "I miss her being my friend, not a bully who likes hurting me…"

Delilah nodded. "Can't blame you there…but don't worry, I'm sure you'll have the chance someday," she said, giving a reassuring smile. "You're still blood after all."

Pyrus slowly nodded, listening and smiling. "Yeah…you're probably right."

Delilah smirked. "Good, now come on, we've got a long way to go yet," she said, leading the way forwards.

"How's that?" asked Ember, standing over the beds she'd made from leaves and grass. "I made sure not to use anything poisonous."

"Wow! Great job Ember!" said Spyro, looking around at the beds.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, did you learn that from your mom too?"

Ember smiled. "Yep, mom taught we a lot of stuff about surviving out here."

Cynder nodded. "Well you're certainly helping."

Ember nodded, smilingly lightly. "I'm glad I am," she explained. "I don't think that nasty bully from the Dragon Temple would be able to do that. I can't think of his name…I think I've tried so hard not to think of him I can't even remember his name…but I think it was a color of some kind…" she said, cocking her head lightly as she thought.

"I don't think it really matters," said Spyro, giving a light smile. "Besides, it sound like to me he was just taking out his frustrations on you over not getting the job," he said, shaking his head. He then looked around and saw Sparx had already fallen asleep on the little bed that Ember had made for him. "I think he's got the best idea. Sooner we go to bed, sooner we can head out in the morning."

The others headed to their beds, Cynder and Spyro laying down in one large bed Ember had made for them. They soon fell asleep…all except Demi.

Demi whined, looking around the now dark clearing with a frightened look. She gave a yelp as thunder crashed. She curled up and shook, eyes darting all over the place fearfully.

"Demi?" asked Cynder, drowsily as she looked up. "What's wrong?"

Demi whimpered, looking up at her. "I'm s-scared…" she stuttered, getting hot under the scales and an embarrassed look on her face. "…It's silly isn't it? An adult dragoness afraid of the dark…" she muttered in her shy voice.

Cynder shook her head. "No, it's not," she said in a reassuring tone. "Everyone is afraid of something…" she stated, looking around. She then carefully moved the shining Sparx's bed around so he was between her and Demi. "A nightlight. That better?"

Demi smiled softly, looking at the yellow light coming off of Sparx. "Yeah, thanks," she said, nodding, then giving a yawn.

Cynder smiled back. "Good…goodnight Demi…" she said, yawning and curling up next to Spyro.

Demi yawned and curled up, making sure to keep Sparx in sight. She slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Venti overlooked the Naga as they slowly excavated a temple deep below the dark silver rock covering the canyon. "You're doing good," he said. "Keep working."

"But Commander Venti," said one of the Naga. "Spyro and Cynder are on there way, shouldn't we get ready for them?"

Venti chuckled. "Don't worry about that, I'll handle Ssspyro and Cynder," he hissed. "I've got a few thingsss I'd like to try," he said, slinking off. A silver, metal humanoid figure resembling a knight's armor came up to meet him, it's limbs thin and skeletal, the cracks in the thing's armor glowing red, as did a pair of eyes on the head. It held a long iron spear in it's hand. "Any sign of them yet?" he asked, losing his strange verbal tic. The being shook it's head. "What about the progress on the iron mines? Are we getting enough out of them?" he asked, receiving a nod. "Good. You and the other Metal Warriors prepare for battle, Spyro and Cynder should be coming soon."

Venti laughed. "Yes, come, I'll be ready for you!" he said, looking at the purple vile that Grendel had handed him.

Venti looked on as his creations came to life. "I'm going to enjoy this!" he hissed, rattling his tail as he slunk into the darkness to watch as events unfolded.

* * *

Oh dear. Looks like Grendel is up to something nasty! And Spyro is having freaky dreams again...Can't blame Ember for not wanting to put her father in harms way since he literally died the last time. And it looks like Ember has had a bit darker of a past than she'd let on, huh? Intresting thing that's sort of trivia, if Ember hadn't met Cynder, that dragon, hmm, I wonder how it was ;), would've been the incarnation of her worst fears, it was only Dark Cynder because her fear Cynder would turn evil overides her own self esteem issues.

Anyway, see you next time!


	22. Entering The Canyon

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay, I moved back into my college dorm room yesterday, so it took a bit. Anyway, today we enter Iron Canyon, the realm of the evil General Venti. What does this sadistic Naga have in store for the group? Let's see!

* * *

**Entering The Canyon**

"_Iron Canyon is a wondrous place. Carved out of the rock by a river centuries ago, it is a natural wonder of our world. However, vast deposits of iron have been discovered here by the Naga, who have been exhuming it for reasons I'm not sure of. Perhaps uncovering this will put you one step ahead of them…" said Ignitus' voice in the heads of the dragons._

* * *

_Spyro watched as the same dream again unfolded before him, the eclipse along with the two jewels moving together. "What is that?" asked Spyro, watching curiously as the jewels glowed with a powerful radiance, the light of the eclipse shining through them. Suddenly, the jewel's were replaced by a vicious, red reptilian eye._

* * *

Spyro leapt awake, panting. "What was that?" he whispered, looking around. The sky was still heavily cloudy and the wind whipped through the trees, but otherwise, it was quiet. He yawned quietly and slowly got up.

Cynder looked up at Spyro and she too awakened. "What's wrong Spyro?" she asked, giving a yawn himself.

Spyro looked back to her. "Oh…it's nothing…just a weird dream is all…" he responded, giving a small smile. "Did you sleep well?"

Cynder nodded slowly, getting up and stretching her wings. "Yeah, thanks to dad."

Ember walked into the dome with some cooked fish. "I caught us a bit to eat, hope it's ok. I cooked them outside so I wouldn't wake everyone."

Cynder smiled. "That's good Ember, well done," she replied, sniffing and licking her lips at the smell of the cooked fish.

Sparx yawned, sniffing the air. "Wow, something smells good," he said, looking up. He then noticed Demi's face right next to him and screamed. Demi was startled awake and screamed as well, causing Sparx to scream again and vice versa about twice.

Cynder chuckled lightly. "Sorry Sparx, Demi was having trouble getting to sleep, and you glow so I moved you where she could see you."

Sparx crossed his arms and was about to respond. "Sparx…" said Demi in her meek little voice, getting the dragonfly's attention. "Thanks for being my nightlight, it really helped me get to sleep…"

Sparx rubbed his head slightly. "Well…you're welcome…I used to do the same for Spyro when he was little. He was really afraid of the dark."

Ember blinked. "You were afraid of the dark, Spyro?" she asked, staring at him with a surprised look..

Spyro got hot under the scales. "Uh…yeah…I guess I was…" he replied, looking down at his paws nervously.

Ember blinked then looked a little embarrassed. "Oops, sorry…I'm just a bit surprised you of all people were…I guess when you see people as heroes you don't think they were afraid like you were."

Cynder smiled, looking to Demi. "See, Demi? There's nothing wrong with being afraid of the dark, even Spyro was."

Demi smiled lightly. "Yeah…I guess you're right…"

"Yeah, everyone is afraid of something…" said Ember, smiling. "Though the reason I was afraid of the dark when I was little was the stories mom told me about Desputier."

Demi blinked. "Desputier?" she asked, cocking her head.

"I've never heard about that…" said Spyro in a confused tone.

"Well it was just a story mom told me when I was a little hatchling," said Ember, thinking back. "She said Desputier was a nasty dragon who was nothing but bones. He comes out at night to snatch up any little dragons who wondered off, dragging them back to his lair to eat and turn their bones into his little minions…" she said, giving a little shiver. She then saw Demi shaking in fright. "Don't worry. Mom told me when I was older that Desputier isn't real, he's just a fairytale old dragons tell little kids so they're scared to wonder off at night and stay inside where it's safe."

Spyro nodded. "That's probably why you're the only one that's ever heard about."

"Yeah, Pinky here is the only one who was actually raised by dragons," said Sparx. "But I think some of the Dragonflies told us something like that, the boogieman I think she called him."

"That's enough Sparx!" said Spyro, suddenly, looking nervous.

Sparx laughed. "Oh yeah, you were scared of him until you were six. Isn't that why you wet the-" he started, only for Spyro to cover his mouth.

"Let's hurry up and eat, we'd better get going!" said Spyro quickly, getting hot under the scales and trying to hide his embarrassed face. The girls giggled a bit then started eating, him joining quickly.

* * *

As they ate, Ember looked over to Demi, who wasn't eating very quickly and looked rather sad. She was simply nibbling her fish with a sigh. "Demi, is something wrong?" asked Ember with a concerned tone.

Demi looked up at her with a sigh. "…I don't know…I just feel…I don't know how I feel…" she stated in a distressed fashion.

Ember gave it a little thought. "…You miss your dad, don't you?"

Demi nodded sadly. "I've never been away from daddy for long…"

Ember put a paw on her back. "I know how you feel. I left my mom for the first time to come along on this adventure…I do miss her sometimes…I already miss dad…"

Spyro nodded. "I miss my parents all the time. It's completely natural."

Cynder gave a small nod. "I just found my dad a short while ago…even then, it was painful to leave him…"

Demi nodded slowly, listening. "So…what do I do?"

"I just think about how we'll be together again soon," said Ember, smiling at the thought of her parents. "That helps," she reassured, getting nods from the others.

Demi thought about it, imagining seeing her father again and smiling. "You're right, it does," she said, in a slightly happier tone.

* * *

The group soon finished eating and carefully cut the vines, allowing the trees to snap back to normal. "That was a good idea, Ember," praised Spyro, patting her on the back, not noticing Sparx getting flung into the air by one of the snapping trees.

Ember smiled widely in response. "Thanks, but Demi really helped, she deserves thanks to."

Demi got hot under the scales at the praise. "Thanks…that means a lot, it really does…" she stated shyly.

"Alright, let's head out," said Spyro, leading the way.

"Wait, why are we walking into the scary canyon?" asked Sparx, flying back down from his unintended flight. "I know you guys can't fly, but do we really have to go into the place we've already been told is full of Naga?"

"Ignitus said that we needed to see what the Naga were up too," said Cynder, looking over her shoulder at him. "I agree, if the Naga are getting a lot of iron, they might be building armor and weapons, that's something that'd be very good to know for when we go after Deadlock."

"And since this is were the Naga are getting their metal, cutting them off might help," said Ember, giving it some thought.

Sparx sighed. "Alright, but if something tries to kill us, don't blame me!"

Spyro then lead the group slowly into the canyon, looking around quietly. "Don't see anyone, let's go," he whispered, leading the way forwards, the others following.

However, no one noticed a purple crystal perched on the canon wall nearby.

* * *

Venti set in a chair facing a purple crystal in front of him. On it was an overlay of the Iron Canyon, with red dots in several places throughout it. He pressed his finger to one of the dots, causing an image of Spyro and company entering the canyon to appear. "Dragons, you have so many uses for these lovely crystals. But you failed to see their great potential as I have. I do wonder how you'll react to seeing these crystals turned on you…" he hissed, smirking as he watched through the crystal.

* * *

The group soon came across an area filled with clusters of crystals, the same type which dragons used rather readily. "Well this is a welcome sight," said Cynder, looking around at the gems.

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, we haven't seen gems growing like this since we left the Dragon Realms…." he said in a relieved tone.

Demi looked them over in amazement. "Wow…I've never seen gems just growing like this…the only ones I've ever had were from killing those plants or Gargoyles…" she said, her excitement betrayed only by her shy voice.

Cynder smiled. "I guess they just don't have them in the Forgotten Forest, but they really are amazing."

Ember then saw something on the ground and looked down, finding a pickax. "Looks like someone's been chipping them off," she said, blinking lightly as she looked at the forgotten tool.

Spyro looked down at it in confusion. "Why would anyone be harvesting gems?" he asked. "The only ones I know who know how to use them for anything are dragons and Apes."

Cynder looked down at the ax, cocking her head. "Yeah, the Naga never used them against us, at least not in the Dragon Temple."

Demi continued to look at the crystal, amazed by it. However, she saw something in the reflection and quickly leapt to the side, a spear being driven into the crystal. Demi screamed as she looked up at her attacker, one of Venti's Metal Warriors.

Cynder swirled around, seeing the strange entity as it pulled it's spear out of the crystal, several more emerging from the shadows, all armed with similar weapons. "What are those things?" she asked, seeing one lift it's spear to strike Demi.

Demi retaliated by blasting it in the chest with an Earth Missile, knocking it to the ground hard. Despite denting the metal inward, it simply stood up and charged again.

"They're not friendly!" yelled Ember, looking around that the things.

Spyro charged forwards, dodging a spear strike and slashing the Warrior in the chest, knocking it back before but smashed in the side of the head with it's spear's staff. He rolled out of the way as it tried to stab him once more, countering with a burst of flame, knocking it to the ground and melting it's armor somewhat, only for it to rise up again and slash him in the shoulder, forcing him backwards.

Ember charged forwards, slamming into one with a Comet Dash and blasting it off it's feet. Once more, the Warrior rose again and slashed at her repeatedly with it's spear. Ember counterattacked with a Fire Bomb to the head, blowing it's head off and knocking it to the ground. However, the machine simply set back up, causing her to scream and jump back as it stabbed at her. "Nothing's stopping them!" she yelled, dodging another spear slash.

"Gee, you think? You blew it's head off!" yelled Sparx in a panic.

Cynder blocked one's slash with her tail blade, blasting it back with her Shadow Fire. She slashed it repeatedly with her claws before being kicked off. She looked up and cringed as it jumped at her with it's spear. This caused her shadow to expand over her and shoot out spikes, bashing the Warrior off of her to the ground. Not thinking about that, she leapt forwards and slashed it's arm off with her tail, then had to dodge another spear slash. "Can nothing hurt these things?" she asked, getting a shallow cut on her chest.

Demi dodged another spear trust and countered by grabbing the spear in her mouth and swinging the warrior around, throwing him across the clearing into the canyon wall. She charged forwards, swinging her tail around, smashing it's chest inwards and, to her surprise, hearing a loud crunch. Red gem shards emerged and healed her wounds, causing the warrior to fall to the ground, red light fading. "Guys! Aim for the chest!" she called to the others.

Cynder heard her and dove into her shadow, emerging behind the one she was fighting and driving her tail through it's back, knocking a red gem out of it's chest as her blade tore through the front. The Warrior went limp, it's light fading as it fell to the ground lifelessly.

Ember dodged several spear strikes, then blasted the Warrior with her Heat Breath, super heating it's metal body to red hot and blasting it back, allowing her to charge forwards and slam into it's chest with a full speed Comet Dash. The hot metal imploded inwards, shattering the red gem in the process, sending the lifeless machine falling to the ground powerless.

Spyro dodged a spear strike and blasted the Metal Warrior with lightning, stunning it long enough for him to form a blade of ice on his tail and drive it through the machine's chest, shattering it's gem and freezing it's chest solid. He tore his blade out, letting the red gem heal his wound as the lifeless machine fell to the ground.

Cynder panted, shattering some of the larger gems to heal herself and regain energy, the others doing the same. "What the heck were those things?" asked Sparx, poking one of them with a stick hesitantly.

"I don't know," said Cynder, examining the one she'd destroyed. The Metal Warrior was well put together, but it's chest consisted entirely of a system of lenses, it's eyes composed of gems as well, with another, purple crystal in it's upper chest directly below it's neck. She touched it and cringed, jumping back. "A Dark Crystal!" she exclaimed, trying to stay away from it.

Spyro cracked open the arms and legs, finding more Dark Crystals. "It's like a Golem!" he exclaimed, being careful not to touch the dangerous crystal. "The Dark Crystals are the controls, just like with the Golem and the Destroyer…"

Cynder blinked lightly. "So the life gem in the chest must be the power source, just like the Destroyer's heart or that cluster of gems in the Golem's head…"

"I guess…" said Spyro, confused.

Demi whined. "Where'd they come from though?" she asked, looking around frightened.

Cynder put a paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Demi, we know how to beat them now, thanks to you," she said, reassuringly. "Remember, aim for the chest."

Demi got hot under the scales. "It was just a lucky hit is all…"

"I guess we know why someone was harvesting the gems," said Spyro, looking at the destroyed Metal Warriors before smashing into a larger crystal to heal his wounds. "Let's hurry before more show up."

Cynder looked to Demi. "Will you be ok?"

Demi nodded shyly. "Yeah…just not used to facing stuff like this without daddy…"

Cynder smiled lightly. "I know, but you've got us, remember that…" she said, giving a reassuring smile.

Demi gave a little smile. "Thanks Cynder…" she said, getting a nod before Spyro lead them forwards.

* * *

"Well, it looks like the basic models aren't enough…" muttered Venti, watching this through his crystal. "No matter, the other models will probably be able to handle them a bit better," he stated, pulling out the vile of the purple liquid. "Not that it matters, since they're just the diversion to make sure they don't get here before we've excavated General Grendel's prize, then the real fun begins!" he declared, laughing sinisterly. He then pressed another dot on the crystal, connecting to several Metal Warriors. "Metal Warlocks, stall them, we've yet to complete Grendel's plan," he ordered, getting nods from the machines before changing his view back to the group.

* * *

Cynder leapt up and blasted a Metal Warrior in the chest with her Poison Breath, then tore the weakened chest, tearing the life gem out with her mouth and letting it fall lifelessly to the ground.

Ember and Demi blew one back with a combination of their heat and earth breaths, before Demi flew forwards and drove her horns through it's chest, shattering the gem to kill it.

Spyro smashed his enemy backwards with his tail before smashing into it's chest with a Comet Dash and busting it's chest open, allowing him to drive his claw into it and rip out the life gem to defeat it.

"Looks like whoever built these things has been busy," said Spyro, shattering the gem he ripped out of the Warrior he'd defeated to heal a cut on his leg.

Ember nodded. "Yeah, but it's a lot easier to defeat them once we know how. They're still not easy."

"Uh guys, looks like their friends are here!" yelled Sparx, pointing as another group arrived, this time accompanied by one wearing a cloak and wield a staff ending in a chunk of blue crystal. The cloaked one charged electricity into it's staff and blasted the ground behind it's group, forming a barrier of electricity to block the dragons' progression.

"That one's new," said Spyro, before flying forwards, dodging several slashes from one of the Warriors, freezing it's chest plate with a blast of ice and then shattering it, and the gem below, with an Earth Missile. However, the new type lifted it's staff, energy charging into it before blasting Spyro backwards with a surge of electricity. "Ow…" he muttered, getting up and dodging another blast of lightning, flying as the attack followed after him with the bolt. When it stopped firing, Spyro countered with a lightning bolt of his own, only for the machine to catch it with it's staff's crystal and swing around, firing the bolt back, blasting Spyro to the ground.

Cynder impaled her Metal Warrior through the chest to finish it, then flew at the new type, dodging a lightning bolt and slashing it's chest with her tail before it bashed her off with it's staff and fired a bolt of lightning at her, shocking her badly and blasting her to the ground. Spyro leapt on it's back and slashed away, only for it to swing it's staff up, hitting him in the stomach and knocking the wind out of him, throwing him to the ground. Before he could catch his breath, the machine pinned him to the ground with it's foot, lowering the staff at his head and preparing a blast of electricity.

Suddenly, Cynder flew in with a blast of her Poison Breath, throwing it off him. The machine rose up and fired it's lightning at her, but she countered with her Wind Sphere, catching the lightning and shooting it back. The machine tried countering by catching it as it had Spyro's, but the explosion of the wind sphere cracked the gem, discharging electricity and shocking it's user instead. Spyro took advantage by flying up behind it and impaling it through the back with his ice coated tail, shattering it's gem and finally bringing it down.

Ember and Demi tackled their opponent's, knocking them back against each other, allowing Ember to slam into one with a Comet Dash while Demi encased herself in a bolder and slammed into the other, sandwiching them and crushing their gems. Ember flew over to Spyro and Cynder. "Are you two ok?" asked Demi, concern in her voice.

Spyro nodded. "Yeah, but whatever that thing was, it was tough…"

"Looks like that's what they used the energy gems for," said Cynder, shattering it's staff crystal to replenish the group's energy. Shattering the crystal resulted in the electrical barrier shattering and allowing them to progress further.

"Am I the only one who thinks leaving the canyon full of these metal guys is a good idea?" asked Sparx. "Anyone?"

"But if these thingies are what the Naga are up to, we have to stop them now," said Ember, concern in her voice.

"Ember's right," said Cynder with a serious tone. "Just the ones we've been fighting put up a pretty good fight, especially those staff ones," she stated, looking at the destroyed machine. "The last thing we need is for the Naga to have an entire army of these things…"

Spyro nodded. "Good point, we'd better hurry," he said, leading the way.

Ember looked at Demi, seeing the shy Dragoness looking a bit frightened. "Demi, are you ok?"

Demi looked up at her. "Y-yeah…I'm just a little scared…I've fought before, but daddy's always been with me…it's scary without him…"

Ember smiled lightly. "I feel the same way, don't worry. You've got us," she said, giving a cheery smile before leading the way.

* * *

Venti smirked. "Perfect, my Metal Warlocks' staffs are working exactly as I planned," he said, smirking.

A Naga entered the chamber. "Commander Venti, we've uncovered the relic," he reported with a bow.

"Good," replied Venti, turning to face him. "Hurry and take it to General Grendel. I will handle thingsss here," he hissed, taking out the purple vile. "I've ssstill got Deadlock'sss plan to do…" he said with a sadistic smirk before slithering off into the darkness, rattling his tail once more.

* * *

Cynder ducked into her shadow, spikes once more shooting up and blasting her attacker off it's feet. Cynder rose up out of her shadow and then her eyes flashed and her shadow flew forwards, tearing through the Metal Warrior's chest and taking the gem with it. "Wow, that must be my other new Shadow power," she said, watching her shadow return to her.

Demi and Ember charged another of the Metal Warlocks, this one wielding a red crystal staff, a massive wall of fire behind it cutting off the canyon. As they charged, the Warlock flung a fireball from it's staff, blowing them off their feet. They dodged a second one, but their charge was stopped when it spun it's staff around, forming a circle of fire around it to stop them. It then bashed Ember back with the bottom of the staff and roundhouse kicked Demi in the side to knock her away. It followed up with a torrent of fire from it's staff, blasting them both backwards. Ember snarled and formed a barrier of heat around herself, canceling out a fireball and then countering with her Heat Breath, blasting the Warlock backwards, it's staff cracking and causing a small explosion of fire to burn it. Demi charged forwards and bit down on it's arm, swinging it around and slamming it into the ground before swinging once more and throwing it into the wall of fire, melting it to slag.

Ember panted, slamming her horns into the staff crystal and shattering it, recharging herself and Demi, canceling out the wall. Spyro and Cynder finished up the Metal Warriors and flew over to them. "Alright, metal guys with spears, that makes sense…but metal guys with MAGIC? What's up with that?" asked Sparx.

"I don't know, but we need to keep going," said Cynder. "There's no telling what else is waiting in this canyon."

"Which is exactly why we should've gone around…" said Sparx with a sigh, following despite being ignored.

* * *

Spyro lead the group forwards, but stopped suddenly, his ears twitching. "I hear something…" he said, moments before he was forced to leap out of the way of something launched at him. He looked back and saw and arrow sticking out of the ground behind him. He quickly fired back with a blast of fire, knocking a bow wielding Metal Warrior out of a tree. He quickly ran up and impaled it's chest with an icy blade formed over his tail.

"Great, arrows! As if it wasn't' bad enough as it was!" said Sparx, hiding in a bush.

Cynder flew up, dodging an arrow herself and blasting the Metal Warrior who fired it with a blast of Shadow Fire, knocking it out of the tree, after which she fired her poison into it chest, melting it and allowing her shadow to tear through and destroy it's crystal.

Ember looked around, managing to dodge an arrow, flying at the firer with a Comet Dash and slamming it into the wall behind it. She bit it's bow and threw it away before firing her Heat Breath point blank into it's chest, superheating the plate so the concussive force shattered it and the gem beneath.

Demi saw one aiming at her and grabbed the one Spyro had defeated, spinning around and letting the arrow embed in the Metal Warrior's back. She then spun around and sent the crippled machine flying into it's ally, knocking it to the ground before she pelted it with Earth Missiles and destroyed it.

Spyro looked around, seeing the four dead robots. "I think we got them…" he said, looking around carefully. A group of the basic Metal Warriors emerged from the bushes and charged.

"I'm getting tired of this," said Cynder, growling and then concentrating, being surrounded by darkness which spread out over the ground, stopping the Metal Warriors in their tracks. Suddenly, shadowy tentacles erupted from the ground and grabbed the Warriors, swinging them up and slamming them together before throwing them away in shattered wrecks.

"Wow! A Shadow Fury! That was so cool!" squeal Ember, excitement in her face and voice. "Awesome!"

Cynder panted. "Yeah, thank my dad…" she said, smiling, then slowly looked around for more enemies, suddenly seeing an arrow be released from a bow in a nearby cave at Spyro's back. "Spyro! Look out!" she yelled, flying into the arrow's path and taking the arrow to the upper part of her hind right leg, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Cynder!" shouted Spyro, before glaring at the cave. He let loose a barrage of Earth Missiles, causing a large explosion, the shattered remains of a Metal Warrior falling to the ground from the cave opening. "Cynder, are you ok?"

Cynder cringed. "Yeah…I think…" she said with a wince.

Demi walked over and winced, Ember looking sick to her stomach, gagging and covering her mouth in disgust. "I've got to pull the arrow out…"

"Do it," said Cynder, cringing and bracing herself as Demi took the arrow's shaft in her mouth.

"I can't watch…" said Sparx, covering his eyes.

"Ember, can you press down on the skin around the wound?" asked Demi, in an uncertain tone.

Ember gagged but nodded. She carefully put her paws on the skin around the wound, but then looked away, with a disgusted look. "Please hurry…"

Demi nodded. "Ok…one…two…three!" she said, quickly jerking the arrow out of Cynder's skin.

Cynder cringed as the arrow was ripped out of her hip. "How bad is it?" she asked, panting lightly with a pained expression on her face.

Demi looked it over. "It's kind of deep…" she said, grimacing as she looked at the bloody wound on Cynder's hip, blood trickling down her leg. "But I've seen daddy treat arrow wounds…Ember, can you find me some herbs?" she asked. "I need one with three red leaves, it smells really spicy, ok?" she asked, in a very serious tone, her voice much the same. "That should stop the wound from getting infected…"

Ember nodded, not looking at the wound. "Y-yeah, I will…" she said, grimacing and walking off.

"I'll try to stop the bleeding," said Demi, looking at the wound. "Some life gems may help, but it's so deep I'm not sure…and we crushed all the gems that were in those machines anyway…"

"You're doing fine, Demi," said Cynder, cringing but giving a smile. "I think you're a good medic."

Demi got hot under the scales. "Thanks…ok, I'm going to put pressure on the wound," she said, getting a leaf and pressing on the wound, making Cynder cringe. "Sorry, but we've got to stop the bleeding…"

* * *

Venti watched from the cave, a bow in his hand. "Shame, I was aiming for Spyro," he said, giving a smirk. "But Cynder is just as good, so long as I hit someone, I'm perfectly fine with that. I'll just get the other one later," he said, chuckling as he looked at the vile, which was now half empty. "Time to back up and let you do your thing…" he whispered, slithering off.

* * *

"Here," said Ember, handing the herbs to Demi, still averting her gaze from the wound.

Demi smiled lightly. "Thanks, Ember," she said, crushing them up with her tail. "Alright, Hold _really _still," she advised, slowly putting them in Cynder's wound, causing the Black Dragoness to cringe and bite her tongue to keep herself from crying out. Demi finally stopped and put a leaf on the wound. "Alright, you should be alright now. That should stop the wound from being infected."

Cynder nodded, panting lightly. "Thanks…" she said, looking back at the still throbbing wound. "We'd better get going, I don't know how well I'll be able fight if we run into more of those things…"

* * *

Spyro lead the group forwards through the canyon, looking around and keeping his eyes open. "Something isn't right…" he said, thinking. "We've not been attacked for awhile…"

"He's right," said Sparx. "It's normally when you think you're out of the woods something shows up to attack…" he said, looking around. He then looked back at Cynder, who was swaying slightly. "Cynder, you ok?"

Cynder shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine…" she said, though her breathing sounded labored. "Just tired is all…"

Spyro went back to her. "Cynder, you're sure you're alright?"

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, I am…" she said, nuzzling him. "I just lost a bit of blood is all…I'll be fine…" she said, smiling lightly. "Don't worry…"

Spyro gave a worried look, but nodded slightly. "Ok…but stay close to me, ok?"

Cynder nodded lightly, walking next to Spyro. _"I don't want to worry Spyro…but I feel weak…what's wrong with me?"_ she thought, feeling weaker by the second.

* * *

Soon, they reached a large clearing with abandoned, ancient looking buildings surrounding them. "Where are we?" asked Spyro, looking around.

"Looks like a ghost town…" said Sparx, dashing around and taking in the area. "This is getting creepy."

Without warning, Cynder suddenly collapsed. "Cynder!" yelled Spyro, running to her side. "Cynder, what's wrong?"

Cynder groaned. "I…I don't know…" she said, weakly tying to lift her head. "I feel weak…"

Demi put a paw on her forehead. "She's fevered…" she muttered, then looked at her wound carefully. "It's not infected…I don't know what's wrong…unless that arrow was…" she started, gasping.

"Poisssoned?" asked Venti's voice as the Naga Commander slithered out of his lair, tail rattling menacingly. "Why yesss, yesss it wasss," he hissed, smirking sadistically.

Spyro snarled. "Who are you? Did you do this?"

"Commander Venti," introduced the insidious rattlesnake-like Naga. "Pleasssed to meet you. Asss for why I did it, I wasss following ordersss from Queen Deadlock," he hissed, rattling his tail menacingly. "Not that I need an excussse to hurt sssomeone."

"Deadlock?" asked Ember with a snarl. "Why would she want you to poison Cynder?"

"Sssimple," hissed Venti, giving a sadistic laugh. "The poisson isss from a Cave Ssspider that lives in Ssserpent's Edge. It'sss non-lethal, but will keep her weak and sssick for about a week. By the time it wearsss off, the ritual will already be complete, and you'll have failed to sssave your egg. Jussst asss Deadlock failed to sssave hersss the night of the raid!" he hissed, giving a chuckle as horror and sorrow entered Cynder's face. "My what wonderful sssorrow on your face, Cynder," he said, circling the group and rattling his tail, causing Demi to whimper in fear. "I'm sssupposssed to poisson Ssspyro too and capture you both, taking you to Deadlock ssso you can watch the ritual with front row ssseatsss but be too weak to do anything about it!"

Sparx growled. "Hey, buddy! You'd better hand over the antidote before we kick you tail, you sssnake!" he yelled, mocking Venti's verbal tic.

"Oh, now why would I do that?" asked Venti, smirking sadistically. "Besssidesss, you've got other problemsss," he hissed, rattling his tail. "Becaussse your egg isssn't the only one we've captured."

"Yeah, we know you've got Hunter!" yelled Spyro, fury clear in his voice. "We'll save him too!"

"Oh, not jussst Hunter," hissed Venti, giving a sadistic smirk.

Spyro's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean?"

Venti gave a laugh. "Queen Deadlock didn't jussst sssettle for one loved one in her grasssp. That'sss why I paid a little visssit to your ssswamp home," he stated, giving a chuckle. "I picked up two more guessstsss for Deadlock. I think you know them," he said, giving a sadist's smirk as he laughed. "Two little Dragonfliesss!"

Spyro's eyes widened, as did Sparx's. "Mom? Dad?" asked Sparx, fear in his voice.

Spyro snarled, rage filling his eyes. "Tell me where my parents are! NOW!" he yelled, his voice full of fury.

Venti chuckled. "Why would I?"

"Tell him!" yelled Ember, growling lowly, smoke rising from her nose. "Taking someone's family is taking it too far!"

Venti laughed hysterically. "Too far? Too far? Don't you get it? I'm a sssadissst! I _like_ making people's livesss a nightmare! Why do you think I'm doing thisss?" he said, laughing. "The looksss on your facesss are ssso pricelesssss!" he hissed, rattling his tail and laughing.

"Spyro," said Cynder, looking up weakly before collapsing again, worry in her voice. "We've got to do something…"

"Tell me where they are, our egg and Hunter too! And tell me how to cure Cynder!" roared Spyro, shadows whipping around his legs as anger filled his face. "Tell me right now or I'm going to kill you!" he bellowed, eyes blazing with fury.

Venti laughed. "Kill me? Oh that doesssn't sssound like the noble hero you're made out to be!" he mocked.

Spyro let out a low growl, his eyes lighting up bright white and his scales turning pitch black, his horns and chest becoming dark yellow as shadows erupted around him, blasting Ember back next to Cynder. "Tell me now!" he roared, glaring at Venti with pure hatred in his eyes, his voice darkly distorted.

"Not again!" said Demi, backing away as rock was torn out of the ground by Spyro's transformation.

Cynder looked up weakly. "Spyro…no…" she muttered, trying to stand but collapsing back to the ground.

Dark Spyro slowly approached Venti, his face contorted in blind rage as the shadowy aura exploded outwards around him.

* * *

Oh crud, looks like Dark Spyro is back! This will not end well. Does Venti know what he's unleashed? We'll just have to wait and see!


	23. Crossing Paths

Hello everyone! Time for the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Today, we see Dark Spyro's rampage and Venti's reckoning. And maybe a little more progression in the story.

* * *

**Crossing Paths**

Dark Spyro snarled, glaring up at Venti as the shadows whipped around him. "Oh, you've changed. That doesn't ssscare me," hissed Venti, pulling out an arrow with purple liquid dripping from the arrowhead. "Time to finisssh this," he said, firing the arrow, aiming for Spyro's shoulder. Dark Spyro snarled, breathing a blast of Convexity and atomizing the arrow before striking Venti's bow and obliterating it as well. Venti staggered back. "Fine then, we'll jussst have to settle thisss the old fassshion way!" he stated, then slithered off into his lair, Dark Spyro in hot pursuit.

"Spyro!" yelled Ember, watching. "Sparx, go with him!" she ordered, Sparx following his brother quickly. Ember then ran to Demi and Cynder. "Cynder, are you alright?" she asked, worry filling her voice.

Cynder snarled but then sighed. "No…no I'm not…" she muttered, trying to stand up but falling weakly once again. "I can't even move to follow him…" she said in a sorrowful voice.

"Demi, do you know anything that might help her?" asked Ember, concern plain in her face.

Demi shook her head sorrowfully. "No…I've never heard of this kind of spider before…" she muttered, giving a sigh.

* * *

Venti looked back, seeing Dark Spyro hot on his tail. "Ssslow him down!" he hissed to some Metal Warriors, which jumped in, allowing Venti to run through another door.

Dark Spyro snarled fiercely as he approached the Metal Warriors, simply letting loose his Convexity Breath and obliterating several. He flew into one of the survivors and tore it's arms off before driving his claw straight through it's chest, tearing out it's crystal, crushing it as the machine lost power and crumpled to the ground lifelessly. He then ripped it's head of and smashed it into another, flying straight after it as the target staggered back, ruthlessly slashing away at it's chest before firing a Convexity Breath straight through it's exposed crystal heart, blowing a hole through it's chest.

* * *

Cynder shivered heavily. "I feel cold…" she said, a bit of fear in her voice.

Ember pulled a blanket from the group's bag. "Here," she said, putting it on her. "Is that better?" she asked, worry in her voice.

Cynder nodded, then gave a sigh. "…We've got to do something…Spyro's on a rampage, I can't move…there's got to be something we can do to reverse this poison…" she said, still shivering.

"Maybe I can help…" said a young, male voice behind them.

* * *

Dark Spyro blew another Metal Warrior through a door with his Convexity breath, blowing the whole wall up in the process. He then slowly walked out onto the top of the canyon wall, which was covered in orange sand, Commander Venti waiting for him. Dark Spyro snarled in fury, giving the evil Commander a hateful glare. "Ah, Ssspyro, I've been waiting for you," Venti hissed, smirking. "Now, I know you're more powerful than me…but that'sss why I brought the fight here," he said, before moving out of the way of a Convexity Breath with a sidewinder-like movement of his tail. "Here I have the home field advantage," he stated, his tattoos lighting up as tornados moved down his arms. He sent the tornadoes out, encircling the battlefield and stirring up a massive sandstorm.

"Let'sss begin," hissed Venti, a tornado forming around his lower body, allowing him to take flight as Dark Spyro tried to blast him with his Convexity Breath.

Dark Spyro looked around him, snarling in rage as Venti vanished into the sandstorm. Suddenly, a cyclone shot out of the storm and slammed into Dark Spyro, launching him head over heels. Venti gave a laugh as the corrupted dragon got back to his feet, firing his Convexity Breath wildly in all directions, trying to hit his foe. He was suddenly hit with a ball of air, knocking him to the ground once again.

Several Metal Warriors leapt out of the storm and slashed at Dark Spyro before he could get up. Dark Spyro merely grabbed one's spear with his mouth, swinging it around into another. He impaled one on his horns and shook it wildly, throwing it overhead before obliterating the rest with his Convexity Breath. Venti launched through the storm behind him, wrapping his tail around him and throwing him away.

Dark Spyro snarled, letting loose a blast of Convexity at Venti but the agile snake merely dodged and flew back into the sandstorm. Dark Spyro snarled fiercely, head snapping around to look for his enemy in the sandstorm. He caught sight of one of Venti's tornados flying his way and returned fire with his Convexity Breath, the attacks colliding but Dark Spyro's tearing through and plowing into Venti's chest, sending the villainous Naga crashing to the ground. As Venti started to rise, Dark Spyro leapt on his chest and slashed him viciously, cutting into his chest and face.

Venti snarled and brought his tail up, smashing Dark Spyro off of him. "You'll pay for that!" he hissed, summoning a tornado from his hands and blasting Dark Spyro back, but Dark Spyro planted his feet in the ground and returned fire with his Convexity Breath, tearing through the attack and blasting Venti clear off the ground. Before Venti could rise, Dark Spyro pounced on him and bit his throat, slamming him into the ground furiously. Dark Spyro then spun around and threw Venti, sending him flying through a rock.

Venti snarled, getting to his feet and wiping blood from the side of his mouth. He saw Dark Spyro charging him and threw his arms out, blasting the corrupted dragon back with a miniature cyclone. He then took out a bone knife and summoned wind around it. He slashed the air, sending a blade of wind at Dark Spyro, who retaliated with a blast of Convexity, ripping right through it. Venti managed to dodge this time and took flight, flying at Dark Spyro and dodging several Convexity attacks before wrapping his tail around the corrupted Dragon and constricting him, rattling his tail fiercely. "Got you now!" he exclaimed, opening his mouth to reveal poison coated fangs and lunged at Dark Spyro to bite him. Dark Spyro counterattacked, however, by jamming his horns into the roof of Venti's mouth. Venti let out a howl of pain, retreating, allowing Dark Spyro to hit him in the chest with his Convexity Breath, blowing the Naga Commander clean off him.

Venti snarled, spitting out blood as he got back to his feet in time to catch Dark Spyro's lunge for him, holding the dragon by the front legs. "You're lucky Queen Deadlock wantsss you alive!" he yelled, throwing the corrupted dragon into a nearby rock back first, the lunging at him with his knife, managing to cause a narrow gash along his chest. Dark Spyro replied by biting down on Venti's left forearm and swinging him around, slamming him through the rock with all the force he could manage. Before Venti could counterattack, Dark Spyro leapt on his chest and bit down on his shoulder, tearing away at it in a feral rage, ripping into armor and flesh.

Venti rattled his tail and attempted to bite Dark Spyro's shoulder with his poisonous fangs, but Dark Spyro managed to avoid them and throw him a good ways before blasting him across the ground with his Convexity Breath. Venti panted, struggling to his feet. "A lot of fight left in you, isssn't there boy?" he hissed, working his hands behind his back and slowly pouring some of the purple venom on his bone knife. "I'll have to fix that," he said, taking a battle pose.

Venti charged and slashed at Dark Spyro repeatedly, but was dodged several times before embedding it into his right leg. Venti smirked, but before he could capitalize, Dark Spyro blasted Venti's hand, blowing it off. Venti jumped back in surprise with a scream of pain, allowing Dark Spyro to capitalize by driving his horns into Venti's stomach and plowing Venti backwards and slamming the evil Naga into the side of a huge rock formation.

Venti looked up at Dark Spyro, blood pour from his stomach as Dark Spyro backed up slowly, glaring back at him. "Mercy! Please! Spare me!" he begged, panic in his voice now that he was disarmed and backed into a corner. "Please! Have mercy!"

Dark Spyro emitted a low growl and fired again, striking the rock above the Naga, sending it collapsing on top of him with no remorse.

Dark Spyro snarled fiercely and fired his Convexity Breath at his surroundings, blowing them apart in a berserker rage. He then bit down on the knife lodged in his leg and tore it out, throwing it to the side and vaporizing it with his Convexity Breath. "Spyro!" yelled Sparx's voice. Dark Spyro spun around and glared at the little dragonfly with a snarl. "Whoa! It's me buddy!" Sparx yelled, covering his face fearfully. He slowly peeked out to see Dark Spyro just staring at him. "Bro…look, you beat him…" he stated, flying closer. "I know, you're upset about mom and dad getting nabbed by old three heads, but this won't help buddy," he said, slowly, hesitantly putting a hand on Spyro's head, causing the corrupted Dragon's fury to ease. "Spyro…we'll save them, we've been through worse…And do you really want mom and dad to see you all…crazy like this?"

Dark Spyro's face softened somewhat, looking thoughtful before the darkness shattered and Spyro returned to normal. He looked around the devastated area slowly. "…I'm…I'm sorry Sparx…" he said, guilt clear on his face. "I…I…"

"I know, I know," said Sparx in a reassuring tone . "Look, I'm upset about mom and dad too…if _I_ had some weird super powered evil side, I'd probably have turned into it back there too," he continued. "That guy was just good at pushing your buttons, no one can blame you for losing it."

Spyro nodded slowly. "Yeah…it's just I feel so guilty I lost it...I always do..." he said, looking down in shame.

"Dude, I know," said Sparx, patting Spyro on the nose. "But don't worry, it wasn't your fault..."

Spyro smiled lightly. "Thanks Sparx...you always know what to say..." he replied, but then staggered slightly, feeling lightheaded.

"Hey bud, are you alright?" asked Sparx, concerned.

Spyro held his head, then noticed the wound on the leg. "I think that knife had that poison on…" he muttered, sinking to the ground. "I feel really tired…" he muttered, his vision getting blurry before he collapsed and lost consciousness.

* * *

"Spyro," said Cynder's concerned voice. Spyro groaned and blinked, unable to make out anything but a black blob. "Spyro, are you alright?" she asked, concern clear on her face as it came into focus.

"C-Cynder?" asked Spyro, slowly standing up. He looked down, finding his leg bandaged up. He then gagged. "Why do I have a bad taste in my mouth?"

"That'd be the cure for the spider venom," said Cynder, before nuzzling him. "I'm glad you're alright, you really scared us."

Ember nodded, giving a smile. "Yeah, you fainted but Cynder didn't…so we were afraid."

Spyro nodded, nuzzling Cynder back before looking around, finding them in a cave with a fire burning in front of them. "How did I get here?" he asked, confused.

"He helped us," said Ember, pointing to Pyrus, who sat nearby, watching cautiously. Delilah set behind him.

"Spyro…this is Pyrus, he's Cyros' brother," explained Cynder. "But he came all this way to help us…he cured us both of the spider poison," she explained, quickly.

Spyro gave a distrusting look to Pyrus. "Explain," he said, simply.

Cynder nodded. "Pyrus showed up not long after you took off…"

* * *

**Flashback**

"Maybe I can help," said a young, male voice behind them.

Ember jumped and spun around, finding Pyrus emerging from a bush behind them. "Oh…hi…" she said, blinking lightly, then just…staring curiously at him.

Demi looked at Pyrus, then her eyes locked on his tattoo and she snarled. "You're Pyrus, right?" she growled.

Pyrus blinked, backing up slightly at her growl. "Y-yes, but…how'd you know my name?"

Demi snarled, baring her teeth. "Because you sister's done enough damage, get away from us…" she growled, rage in her eyes.

"Cyros…" muttered Pyrus, giving a rather irritated sigh. "If you've met my sister, then I can't blame you for not trusting me…" he admitted, a sorrowful look on his face. "But I'm not like her…I just want to help," he explained, no hint of falsehood in his voice. "I promise…"

"And just why should we believe you?" asked Cynder, looking up weakly, giving a glare. "Your sister tricked us and we ended up in a lot of trouble because of it. Why should we think you're telling the truth?"

Delilah stepped out slowly, preparing to say something, when Ember stepped up. "Just because his sister is a big meanie doesn't mean he is…" said Ember, looking to the others with a chastising look.

"She got you kidnapped!" exclaimed Demi in disbelief.

"And if she hadn't, I'd not have found my dad so quick or got my Phoenix powers," retorted Ember, giving a glare. "And we trusted your dad, didn't we? He's an Ape, his kind were nasty and mean to the dragons, and you're his daughter…but we gave both of you a chance, didn't we?" she replied, causing Demi to lower her head with a guilty look.

"Yeah…we did…" replied Demi, her voice low and guilt ridden.

Ember then looked to Cynder. "And Cynder…I'd only heard scary stories about you my whole life…but I trusted you. You're my best friend, if I hadn't trusted you, we wouldn't be friends at all…" she continued, giving them both a disappointed look as Cynder got a guilty look on her face. "Why should we judge him for his sister without even listening to what he has to say? I know his sister got me kidnapped…I know his mom caused this whole mess…but he says he's here to help us…what if he is and we don't give him a chance?" she asked, seriously. "…Shouldn't we at least let him talk?"

Cynder lowered her head to the ground, her face becoming ashamed as she thought over Ember's words. "…You're right, Ember…I of all dragons should've known better…" Cynder replied, her voice rather miserable. "I guess we can hear him out…"

Pyrus looked at Ember with wide eyes. "T-thanks…" he replied, blinking.

Ember smiled. "You're welcome, now go ahead, explain why you're here," she said, giving a trusting look.

Pyrus nodded lightly. "Alright, but first, tell me, what's going on here?" he asked, concentrating on Cynder, who was still shivering and looked quite weak.

"A Naga named Venti shot Cynder with a poison arrow…" explained Demi, keeping an eye on Pyrus. "On _your mother's _orders. He said it was some cave spider from where the Naga live. Spyro went after him, but he's out of control at the moment. We want to head after him but Cynder's too sick to move…"

"Cave spider?" asked Pyrus, giving a thoughtful look. "Oh! I know what to do!" he said, then looked. "Delilah!" he called, the Kitsune jumping over.

Demi jumped back. "Who are you?" she asked in surprise.

"Delilah, I'm a kitsune, glad to meet you," the kitsune answered simply, then looked to Pyrus. "What do you need Pyrus?"

"I need some bark and red grass, and a bowl to put it in. The red grass is really sour tasting," said Pyrus quickly, Delilah running off to get it. Pyrus looked to the group. "That's Delilah, she's a friend of mine," he explained, blinking lightly. "She's confusing…"

"So we saw…" said Demi, watching the kitsune in confusion.

"Yeah…Did someone treat the wound already?" asked Pyrus in a concerned tone.

"Demi did," explained Ember. "She's good with herbs," she commented, but didn't look in Demi's direction, instead continuing to look at Pyrus with a curious look for some reason, as if analyzing him, like a child did when meeting a new person.

Demi got hot under the sales. "Thanks, Ember…" she muttered, her shy voice returning. "I was just doing what I was taught to do…"

Pyrus nodded as Delilah returned with some bark, the red grass, and a stone bowl she'd found. "Yuck!" she exclaimed with a grimace. "That grass sure was sour," she said, rubbing her tongue to get rid of the taste, but not losing her normal rapid speech.

"I know," replied Pyrus, putting the bark in the bowl and sending a blast of fire into it, lighting it ablaze.

"Eew!" exclaimed Ember, covering her nose with her paw, a disgusted look on her face. "That stinks!"

Demi nodded, her and Cynder reacting much the same while Delilah got a good bit away. "What are you doing anyway?"

Pyrus gagged at the smell himself. "Making the antitoxin for the spider bite. I was raised at Serpent's Edge, mom taught me how to make this just in case me or Cyros got bit by the cave spiders…"

Cynder nodded, turning her head away from the reeking fire. "I hope it works quick…Spyro's on the warpath and we need to get after him quickly," she said in a worried tone, looking at the path Spyro had taken, smoke already rising from the building.

Pyrus nodded. "I understand," he said, giving a serious look. "As soon as it burns down, you'll need to eat the ashes, that'll neutralize the venom."

"No offense, but I'll need some proof it's not going to hurt her first," said Demi, still giving Pyrus an untrusting look. "You're still not exactly trustworthy to me."

Pyrus let the mixture burn down to a red ash and then took a paw full and ate it himself, giving a grimace but swallowing it. "See, it's safe?" he asked, then handed the bowl over to Cynder. "Eat it all, you should be up in about ten minutes. The venom doesn't cause much permanent damage. We just need to neutralize it so you can get back to your feet."

Cynder nodded lightly, slowly starting to eat the ash cautiously, gagging several times.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

"That ash fixed Cynder right up," explained Ember, for some reason staying pretty close to Pyrus. "Pyrus gave you the same yucky stuff, but it helped."

"You probably passed out because you'd used up a lot of energy as Dark Spyro and your heart was beating fast," explained Demi, still looking at Pyrus distrustfully. "But the antidote he gave you neutralized it."

Spyro nodded, getting back to his feet slowly. "I see…not that I'm not grateful, but why help us?" he asked, looking at Pyrus. "Your mother is trying to ruin our lives…"

Pyrus gave a sigh, looking down. "…I love my mom…that's _why_ I came to help you stop her…"

"Wait wait…" said Sparx, giving a confused look. "If you love old three-heads, why are you coming to help her enemies?"

Pyrus looked up. "Because I know if she goes through with what she's planning, she'll regret it for the rest of her life…" he explained solemnly, looking at the group with a regretful look on his face. "Mom is planning to sacrifice those eggs in some…ritual at the eclipse…after everything she's told us about the Temple raid, I can't let her do the same thing to anyone else that happened to her…" he explained, slowly looking the group's faces over.

"…I've seen what the grief losing your family can do to someone…" said Pyrus, sorrow on his face. "…Everything my mother is doing is because of what happened to her family…it's taken over her life…she doesn't even pay much attention to me or Cyros anymore…" he continued, lowering his wings in sadness. "She's got a good heart…she's just lost so much that it's turned her into something she's not…I want to stop her because maybe if I do, it'll bring the old Deadlock back…the one who saved me and Cyros the night of the raid and raised us as her own children…"

Spyro listened carefully, his face becoming sympathetic. "…We know about Deadlock's past…to be honest, I can't blame her for going berserk after all she's been through…"

Pyrus nodded slowly. "…She's lost everything she loved…but I think in her anger at the past…she's forgotten me and Cyros…that's the worst part about this…in trying to avenge what she's lost…she's forgetting what she has now…"

Cynder looked down sadly, thoughtfully. "…That's what becoming obsessed does…Deadlock has become so consumed with revenge, nothing else matters…when me and Spyro lose ourselves to the Darkness…all we can think of his anger, rage, and vengeance…so I think we can understand what's happening," she explained with a sigh.

Spyro nodded, thinking back to his rampage earlier in the day. "Yeah…that's why we try so hard not to lose ourselves to it…" he stated with a bit of guilt in his voice. "That's why we've not talked much about our egg or the ones Deadlock has kidnapped…if we think too much about it and get depressed, it let's the darkness get a foothold…"

Pyrus listened intently. "I think I understand…but please understand what I'm saying, mom is still a good person deep down…she's a good queen to the Naga…she's helped them through so much…"

"Wow, a villain that's actually good to their minions," said Sparx, blinking in surprise. "There's a first…"

"I know," said Delilah. "Most villains just see their minions as expendable, weird isn't it?"

Sparx nodded. "Yeah, I mean doesn't treating them well so they like you make more sense?"

"I know! And half the time if their minions cheer when they're defeated!" replied Delilah, shaking her head. "Deadlock is actually pretty smart to treat the Naga well."

"Anyway," said Pyrus, looking back. "She became Naga Queen for that reason, actually," he explained, thinking. "The previous Naga Queen, Queen Gorgon, was a ruthless tyrant who treated the Naga like slaves. Gorgon wasn't her real name, but she took it from the Naga's spirit of death…their laws made it so the only way to do anything about it was to kill the queen…none of them were strong enough…mom saw the nightmare Gorgon put them through and decided to stop it…me and Cyros were little kids then…mom told us not to watch, but we did anyway…"

* * *

**Flashback**

Deadlock snarled up at the gigantic, dark green Naga before her. Queen Gorgon was even bigger than Grendel was, but like him had four arms. Her head was viper-like in shape and having a strange mix of beauty and horror to it's appearance. Her crown was golden, covered in jewels, but had a helmet part that contained a great many craved serpents to emulate the creature she'd taken her name from. Her armor was golden with purple highlights, a Gorgon's head mounted in the chest plate.

Pyrus and Cyros peeked out from a nearby column, watching. "Gorgon, your tyranny over the Naga ends now!" yelled Deadlock's ice head, all three glaring daggers at the gigantic Naga.

"A dragon is worried for the Naga?" Gorgon asked, slithering off her throne and circling Deadlock. "Why?" she asked, disbelief in her face.

"It's simple really," said the ice head, looking up undaunted.

"You're a tyrant enslaving them, and that's just not right!" snarled the fire head, smoke rising from it's nose. "A queen should be good and just to her subjects! Not evil and tyrannical!"

"And just what do you intend to do about it?" asked Gorgon, looking the three-headed dragoness over.

Deadlock's electric head snaked around to look at Gorgon. "Simple, please recite the law explaining how challenging the Naga throne is handled," she requested in her normal, cheery voice.

"Anyone may challenge the Naga ruler to pitched combat for the throne," recited Gorgon. "So what?"

Deadlock's ice head smirked. "Exactly. _Anyone! _It doesn't say it has to be a Naga that does the challenging," she replied. "We challenge you for the throne, Queen Gorgon!"

The Naga in the chamber gasped in surprise, looking to Queen Gorgon and then to Deadlock. Gorgon snarled fiercely. "…You're right…it doesn't matter, I'll beat you anyway! And maybe get a small measure of revenge for the indignity the Naga suffered by being banished by you Dragons!" she stated, tail whipping fiercely. She then lunged at Deadlock with a bite, only for Deadlock to flap her wings and fly back, leaving the Naga Queen to bite down on nothing but stone. Deadlock retaliated with a burst of fire and electricity from her outer heads, blasting the Gorgon back.

Gorgon snarled, grabbing a spear from her throne and trusting it at Deadlock, only for her to fly up and evade, the ice head sending a stream of ice and freezing the spear to the ground. As Gorgon tried to pull it out, Deadlock blew her back with a combined blast of fire, ice, and electricity breaths, slamming her back into her throne. Engulfing herself in a comet dash, Deadlock flew forwards and tried to slam into Gorgon's chest, only for a tail whip from the colossal Naga to knock her back. Deadlock drove her feet into the ground, tearing up the ground as she managed to stop her momentum. Gorgon pulled a massive sword from her throne and swung it at Deadlock repeatedly, but the dragon managed to dodge her swings until the sword was driven deeply into the ground, receiving a minor cut on her chest for all Gorgon's effort.

Deadlock's electric head bit down on the sword and sent a high voltage shock through it, causing Gorgon to roar in pain and convulse before being blasted back, losing her sword in the process. As Gorgon staggered back, Deadlock coated her tail in ice and swung it around, driving it into Gorgon's neck and then discharging a massive jolt of electricity through it, electrocuting her. As Gorgon screamed in pain, Deadlock's three heads took aim at her open mouths and fired their three elemental breaths straight down her throat.

Gorgon cried out in pain, slinking backwards and swaying lightly. "…This can't be…I can't lose to a dragon! This kingdom will never be ruled by a dragon!"

Deadlock glared at Gorgon fiercely. "It can and it will, and this dragon will be 10 times the ruler that you were! Goodbye Gorgon!" yelled all three heads, letting loose another salvo of elemental breaths from her three heads, blasting Gorgon back onto her throne with a huge hole in her chest. Gorgon struggled to get back up, but finally went limp, flames erupting from her body as she burned to ashes, only life gems and her crown remaining.

The Naga looked at the remains of their former queen in shock, then to their new queen. They slowly bowed before Deadlock with respect. "Rise," said the ice head. "Our first decree as queen is this, all Naga who are slaves to the queen are free. You may return to your families in peace. All who wish to remain in our service will be paid for their duties, but your family and friends come first," she said, slowly walking up and setting on the throne.

The Naga slowly looked at one another in shock and disbelief before smiles slowly followed suit. The room then broke out in cheers, many coming up and thanking Deadlock directly. As news spread, the cheers grew louder throughout Serpent's Edge.

"Pyrus, Cyros," said Deadlock's ice head. "I know you're here…come to me, children.

Pyrus and Cyros looked to each other, then ran to Deadlock. "Are we in trouble, momma?" asked Cyros, looking up at her mother worriedly.

Deadlock smiled and nuzzled her babies. "No…I know you were just worried about your mother…" the electric head replied. "And we appreciate that…we really do…" she continued, pulling them in and hugging them lovingly with her front legs.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

"All the Naga that work for mom are paid well," said Pyrus, thinking back. "The military is completely voluntary, but likewise has good benefits and pay…mom kept her word…" he continued, smiling. "She even gave Gorgon's children good roles so long as they didn't follow their mother's ways and respected the other Naga. She gave Gorgon's crown prince any role he wanted outside being royalty."

Cynder gave it some thought. "Wow…that makes me feel kind of bad for the Naga we've killed…"

"Don't," said Pyrus, looking up seriously. "They knew going into the army that they were putting their lives at risk. They knew it was a war, mom didn't make them do it. You can respect them…but you didn't do anything but protect yourselves…I'm a pacifist, but I'll fight if I really need to protect myself…"

"Paci-what?" asked Sparx, blinking.

"Pacifist," said Delilah. "It means he doesn't like to fight unless he has to," she explained in her normal quick voice.

"Besides, Venti was a sadistic psychopath," continued Pyrus, distaste in his voice. "The only reason he's a Commander is General Grendel picked three of them, Venti, Hades, and Gaia. Mom chose the fourth one, she's a lot nicer."

"We took out Hades already," said Spyro, still looking a bit distrustful. "He'd kidnapped a bunch of Cheetahs from the Dragon Realms and planned to sell them to the Gargoyles."

Pyrus nodded. "Hades was a selfish, evil Naga. Mom was even suspicious that he abused his own wife…I might be peaceful, but that doesn't mean I don't think people who do awful things shouldn't be punished…that's why I want to stop mom from doing this…mother or not, I can't let her get away with murdering children…"

Spyro nodded, then the four dragons got together and talked. After a few minutes of quiet talking, they looked back to Pyrus. "Alright…you can come, but we're going to be keeping an eye on you, alright? We might believe your telling the truth, but after what we went through with your sister, you'll need to really earn our trust…" reported Cynder, making sure her voice wasn't hostile.

Pyrus nodded. "I kind of expected that, honestly…"

Spyro then smiled lightly. "Thanks for curing me and Cynder by the way."

Pyrus smiled back. "You're welcome…I was just doing the right thing…"

Cynder looked outside at the dark, rain falling as lightning flashed. "It's late…we should get some sleep…"

"What about him?" asked Sparx, pointing to Pyrus. "I don't trust Deadlock's baby boy not to stab us in the back during our sleep."

"Good point…" said Cynder, looking over at him. "But taking turns sleeping would leave us all tired by morning…Since he's helped us already when he really didn't need to, I don't think he'd attack us or anything…but I guess we should sleep with one eye open just in case..." she stated, laying down with Spyro.

"Sparx…" said Demi, whimpering slightly. "Will you be my nightlight again tonight?" she asked, timidly.

Sparx smiled lightly. "Sure…I guess I can…" he said, laying down so his glowing body was were Demi could see it.

Demi smiled. "Thanks Sparx…" she replied, curling up and keeping the little dragonfly in her line of sight, letting herself relax some, but making sure that Pyrus was still where she could see him.

Pyrus looked to Ember. "…Ember…can I ask you something?"

Ember looked back to him. "Yeah…sure," she said, unusually shyly in her tone and expression.

"Why…why did you trust me so quick?" asked Pyrus, confusion in his voice.

Ember smiled lightly. "I'm just a trusting person…sometimes being naïve means you trust people more easily…sometimes they betray your trust…other times you're glad you trusted them in the end…"

Pyrus smiled lightly, getting a little hot under the scales. "Well…thank you…it means a lot…" he said, then yawned. "Goodnight, Ember," he said, walking over and laying down, Delilah nearby.

Ember got hot under the scales as well, though wasn't sure why. "Goodnight…" she said, blinking in confusion before curling up on her bed. She gave another look at Pyrus, getting hot under the scales again and giving a soft blink. She then curled up and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Venti's remaining hand erupted out of the rock he'd been buried in. He slowly pulled himself out of it. "Nice try, Spyro, but it'll take more than that to kill me," he said, shaking debris off, panting, holding his wounded stomach. "Pyrus should be here soon…since Spyro got away, I'll just have to settle for killing that little peace lover."

"Oh, I don't think you'll be doing that," said Cyros' voice. Cyros slowly walked out of the shadows, Kage following suit.

"Pincesssss Cyrosss?" asked Venti, looking at her in surprise. "What bringsss you here?"

"Ssshut it up with the sssnake talk, Venti. We both know you just do that to sound creepy," said Cyros, giving a snarl. "Did I just hear you want to kill my brother?" she asked, giving a glare.

"Yes," said Venti, giving a smirk. "Isn't that what you want?"

Cyros looked thoughtful. "No, I don't think I do," she explained, circling the evil Naga. "You see, I may want to usurp my brother, but there are ways to do that _without_ killing him, that will work a lot better," she stated. "And let a sadistic psycho like you do it? No way. Even I'm not that bad," she pointed out. "No one hurts my brother…except for me," she stated with a growl, taking out another purple crystal. "But I do have use for you, since you already lost and they think you're dead, I don't think anyone will miss you."

Venti's eyes widened. He looked to Kage. "Kage, you won't really let her k-kill me, are you?" he asked, actual fear in his voice.

Kage shook his head. "Of course not," he said, getting a relaxed sigh from Venti. "_I'm_ going to be doing the killing part."

Venti gulped, backing up against the rock. "P-please, mercy!" he begged, terror in his face.

Cyros threw the crystal, causing it to float over Venti. She then took out her guitar and started playing as rain fell around them.

"_Crystal shining with mystic light_

_Take in this warrior's might_

_There is power that lies within_

_Allow that power to be taken…"_ sung Cyros, the crystal projected an energy field around Venti, dragging him into the air and holding him in a sphere of energy, grey-blue energy coming out of Venti and into the crystal as Venti writhed in pain.

"_Crystal of power do my will_

_Let within you this power fill_

_And transfer that power to another_

_Let the power flow from one to the other,"_ she sung, the crystal's energy field fading before it flew towards her hand, where she caught it.

Venti crashed to the ground, panting heavily. He then looked at his arms, seeing the tattoos slowly fade away. "W-what did you do?"

"I stole your powers," said Cyros, smirking, putting the crystal into the spike on her collar. Grey-blue energy rushed out into her own body, a wind tattoo like the one formally worn by Venti joining her ice tattoo down her back and extending down her other front leg. "Ah, that feels good. Alright, Kage, I've got what I wanted, do what you will."

Kage slowly approached Venti. "W-why are you doing this Kage?" Venti asked, trembling it terror.

"Because you enjoy inflicting pain on others for no reason besides your own amusement," said Kage, glaring at him. "Because you relish the fear your victims have…I've always despised you for that, you evil, detestable being. Cyros has a good heart despite her ways, Deadlock's actions are fueled by the agony of loss, you have no such thing. That's why I'm doing this," he explained, hatred in his eyes as he pulled out a knife. "How does it feel to be the one fearing death, Venti?" he asked, slowly approaching the trembling, frightened Naga before him. Venti let out a scream as lightning and thunder tore through the air.

* * *

"General Grendel!" yelled a Naga, slithering up to Grendel. "Commander Venti was defeated, sir."

Grendel sighed, looking down at the Naga. "That's a shame," he said. "Did he get them with the venom?"

"Yes sir," said the Naga. "But I'm afraid Prince Pyrus healed them…this is most distressing."

"…I see," said Grendel, giving a growl. "And my mission for you?"

The Naga took out a brown poach and handed it to Grendel. "There you are, sir," he stated. "We got it from the temple in Iron Canyon."

Grendel opened the poach, producing a blue crystal shaped like a sun, a crescent shape cut from the edge. "Yes…you've done well," he said, putting the jewel away. "But there's one small problem," stated the huge Naga, turning his back to the Naga and slithering a bit away.

"And what is that, General Grendel?" asked the smaller Naga, confusion on his face.

Grendel then looked over his shoulder and gave a small smirk. Suddenly, he pulled out a sword and spun around, driving it clear through the Naga's stomach and out his back. "I'm afraid you know too much," he whispered sinisterly in the Naga's ear as the smaller serpent gasped in pain before Grendel pulled his sword out, leaving the Naga to burn to ashes as he cleaned his blade.

"Well, you've got the Sun Jewel," said Gaia, slithering up next to him and putting her hands on his shoulders. "Now we only need the Moon Jewel from Amber Desert," she replied, embracing Grendel and kissing him once again. "I think I'll get that for you. It'll make a wonderful gift for my future husband."

Grendel smirked. "Yes, thank you Gaia…but be careful, we can't send any Naga this time…" he said, thinking. "Pyrus is with their group, most Naga are still loyal to him and Deadlock."

"That's why you want Cyros to get the throne, right?" asked Gaia, looking up at him.

Grendel nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

Gaia gave a thoughtful look. "Well, at least you have control of the army so long as the ruler doesn't oppose your choice…that's why of every position in the entire Naga horde, you chose commander of the military, correct?"

Grendel nodded, smiling. "It was the least Deadlock could do after killing my mother. Not that I hold that against her. I'm a vengeful Naga, that's true, but even the prince was not treated well by the queen in Gorgon's reign," he explained, rather bitterly. "But as I said, that's the very reason you can't use Naga to get the Moon Jewel."

"Don't worry, Grendel, I've still got Venti's Metal Warriors and…" said Gaia, taking out a large, blood red book with a skeletal, demon horned dragon head on the cover. "…the spell book you found for Deadlock has just the spell in it to help me with that…wherever did you find it? Us Naga haven't used black magic in centuries."

"Oh, someone close to Malefor gave it too me," explained Grendel, looking around to make sure no one was hearing what they were saying. "It was setting around and they had no use for it."

Gaia nodded, looking through it. "Well, that certainly explains why it has many of the spells that Malefor used."

Grendel pulled her in and kissed her. "Well, I wish you luck, Gaia. Now I must go inform the Queen of Venti's demise," he replied. "I won't tell her of Pyrus' defection, as while useful to my plans, it would bring risk of my own plans being uncovered if she knew. I'll meet up with you and tell you what she's got planned, Deadlock is still queen and we have to follow her commands."

Gaia nodded. "Understood, until we meet again, my love," she said, kissing again before slithering away.

Grendel smirked, turning. "Soon, Dragons…soon vengeance will belong to the Naga for the disgrace you dealt to us so long ago," he said, smiling wide as he headed for Deadlock's chamber…

* * *

Oh boy, looks like Venti met his end a little differently, didn't he? And just to point out, he's actually stronger than Hades was. And looks like Pyrus and Delilah are on board, but not quite trusted just yet. Let's hope that changes, shall we? And what's this Grendel has? That looks a little familular...

Anyway, see you next time!


	24. Desert Trek

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay! Anyway, next chapter is up! We're nearing the endgame, and what an exciting ride it has been. But as the heroes get closer to their goal, things will get harder from here on out. Will they succeed? Let's find out!

* * *

**Desert Trek**

Deadlock gave a sigh. "So Commander Venti has fallen, how unfortunate," said the ice head, mourning once more in her voice.

"Still, he was a sadistic psychopath who liked causing misery for fun," pointed out the electric head.

"Yes…why are only two of our Commanders not dangerously unstable?" asked the ice head, blinking. All three heads looked to Grendel expectantly.

"…Well I chose based on fighting skill," replied Grendel, as if taken off guard. "After all, Hades and Venti were both excellent in battle and Venti was a mechanical genius. They were obvious choices, despite their…flaws."

The three heads looked thoughtful, communicating with one another before nodding. "Yes, that makes sense," said the ice head.

"Yes, after all, if a warrior enjoys combat, they're likely to excel in it," stated the fire head.

Deadlock turned and looked into the lava. "Well, be that as it made, we have two Commanders left and there's still Amber Desert between them and Serpent's Edge. While we could allow them to get here, at their present course, it'll take three days," said the ice head, thoughtfully.

"That's one day before the eclipse," said the electric head, worry in her voice.

The fire head snarled fiercely. "We can't let them get here too early! It could ruin everything!"

"My queen," said Grendel, quickly. "Commander Gaia has discovered a spell in the same book as the one I gave you. It, combined with what's left of Venti's Metal Warriors, would allow her to stall them considerably in Amber Desert without putting any Naga at risk except herself, and she is the strongest Commander after all."

Deadlock gave it some thought, then smiled and nodded. "Good, that's just what we need…" said the ice head.

"Yes, please tell Gaia to keep them delayed…we need for them to arrive here during the eclipse," said the electric head, deep in thought.

Grendel blinked. "During the eclipse? Why?" he asked, chock in his face.

Deadlock sighed, slowly walking around the eggs, looking at them. "…Parents deserve the right to fight for their children, Grendel…" the ice head said, looking saddened.

"We never got to…" continued the electric head, likewise having a sorrowful look on her face. "They deserve the chance."

"Besides, if we can beat them ourselves and take our revenge personally, it'll be that much sweeter!" said the fire head, hiding her face from Grendel to avoid him seeing the downtrodden look on her face.

"We wish to fight those two ourselves, Spyro and Cynder…please grant us our wish, Grendel," said the ice head looking his way pleadingly. "We need this…"

Grendel rubbed his chin and nodded. "Alright, my queen, Gaia shall do as you command," he replied, bowing before slithering out of the room. As he closed the door, he smirked and gave a chuckle. "Perfect…I couldn't have planned it better myself," he whispered, snaking off.

* * *

"_Amber Desert is, like many places in the Unknown Realms, an ancient, beautiful, and…dangerous place. The desert's sands hide the remains of a long forgotten civilization that has long since vanished from the Earth. It is the wet season in the desert, which will provide some degree of protection from the heat of the day. But be careful, young dragons, for I sense that black magic is at work in this place and the spirits of the deceased seem most restless here," explained Ignitus' voice in the heads of the dragons. "But this is all that remains between you and Serpent's Edge. Between you and Deadlock…may the Ancestors watch over you…"_

* * *

Demi snarled to herself, watching Pyrus from a distance. The fire Dragon was talking with Ember, nothing more. "Well…it's been two days of travel…so I guess he's more trustworthy…still…" she whispered to herself, untrusting in her tone. "After what his sister and mother did…I still can't help thinking this is a trap…"

"Wow, so the Naga use those tattoos to let them use the Dragon Elements?" asked Ember, watching Pyrus with amazement. She just couldn't seem to stop looking at him…she felt…strange…like her chest was warm inside, but different than it normally was. Being with her dad made her feel similar…but not the same…What was this?

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah, they're reserved for high ranking Naga. General Grendel was the former prince and his mother refused giving it to him. She refused them herself, as she saw it as a sign of weakness," he explained. "Grendel doesn't want them, but he could get one if he did. Mom let me and Cyros get ours for our own protection."

Ember nodded, hanging on his every word. "Did it hurt?" she asked, looking at the tattoo curiously.

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah, a bit. But it wasn't too bad…" he said, turning so she could look at the tattoo going down his back more. "Mine is ice."

Ember looking at it. "Wow…" she said, then cringed, seeing the jagged scar going across his back. "What about that scar?" she asked, concern in her voice as she lightly touched the scar.

Pyrus blinked, looking back. "Oh, that," he said, a hint of embarrassment in his voice. "I can't believe I forgot that. I got that fighting this guy named Boss Kaze."

"Kaze?" asked Ember, blinking as she looked at the scar.

Pyrus nodded. "Yeah, he was the boss of this group of thieves who kidnapped me. They wanted to ransom me to whoever would pay the most. Delilah broke me out and we took him down. I really don't like fighting…but he caused all kinds of trouble for people out here and I couldn't let that go. He cut my back with a sword, that's how I got the scar."

Ember smiled lightly. "Wow, that sure was brave of you," she said, getting a little hot under the scales for some reason.

Pyrus looked back and got hot under his own scales. "T-thanks…but I was just doing the right thing…Plus, I didn't even kill him, he ended up missing me with an attack and falling to his death."

Ember nodded, looking down at her paws nervously, her getting hotter under the scales than before. "…Well…it was still brave…" she said, uncharacteristic shyness in her voice. _"What's going on?"_ she thought. _"I've never felt this way before…"_

Delilah and Sparx set nearby. "Alright, so then he blasted Cynder with this weird…energy head…thing and she turned back to normal," explained Sparx, looking up at the Kitsune.

"Ah, I see," replied Delilah. "It's only natural that if someone's power is stronger than the one possessing the victim, that dispels the curse," she stated in her regular rapid tone. "I guess in that instant, while Malefor was sealed up, Spyro was stronger than him."

Sparx blinked. "And how do you know that?" he asked in a confused tone.

"I've seen it before," said Delilah simply.

Sparx's jaw dropped. "You've seen a giant monster whose really a much nicer person getting the curse beaten out of them before?"

Delilah nodded. "Eleven times as a matter of fact," she stated, rather nonchalantly. "Five were in other universes. When you're born in the Spirit World you _have_ to go to other universes to get anywhere else, it's not easy but it's fun if you're willing to make the trip. I started doing it to escape getting arrested after I turned away from crime and only recently came back to this one to see how things were going."

Sparx blinked. "Really?" he asked, blinking. "That's…even weirder an answer than I expected…"

"Anyway, one of those incidents involved horses…or where they Pegasi?…Unicorns?…I think some of each…I know at least two were all three at once…" Delilah pondered, blinking thoughtfully. "They were so pretty…I didn't get involved, I just watched from the sidelines, but I really like that universe, everyone was so nice. Especially that one girl who threw me a welcoming party just because she'd never seen me before, I like her," she stated, giving a smile at the memory. "And I did meet an alternate version of Spyro once, there was another Ember there too, she had a crush on him…Oh! And then this one time I met this cool British-"

Sparx gave a look of wide-eyed shock and rubbed his head with a sigh. "Whoa! That's enough…your life is even weirder than mine…"

Delilah shrugged. "Not really, I'm just immortal and have magical powers. I've just lived a lot longer than you and Spyro is all. Well I used to be perfectly immortal but I got this collar on me that makes it so I can die but not of natural causes. It's not all bad, though. Being able to die on an adventure is actually kind of exciting."

Sparx blinked, trying to process her rapid speech. "Good thing I'm used to Volteer…I think you and him would get along well."

"Really? He sounds pretty cool…he wasn't in that other universe though…" said Delilah, before looking around suddenly. "Where's Spyro and Cynder?"

Sparx sighed. "Spyro and Cynder are really broken up over everything that's going on. I'm upset too about mom and dad, but they've got the whole super powered evil side thing to deal with."

"Oh yes, I hate it when that happens," said Delilah, sighing. "I can't tell you how many times I've seen a hero get a power up or weapon that turns out to be evil."

Sparx gave her a rather baffled look. "No…I don't think you could…" he said, confusion clear in his voice. "But yeah, it stinks. Anyway, we'll be heading off once they're done talking…"

* * *

Cynder and Spyro set together, looking into the distance, the light brown sands of the Amber Desert before them. "…Tomorrow is the Eclipse, Spyro…do you think we'll make it there in time?" asked Cynder, worry clear in her face.

Spyro nodded, nuzzling her. "I know we will Cynder…On the other side of this desert is Serpent's Edge…We just have to get going soon and travel all day, we can get there tonight and stop Deadlock…" he replied, but couldn't hide the worry in his own face.

Cynder sighed, pain clear in her eyes, tears building up in them. "But…what if we can't?…Our egg…all the eggs…I don't know what I'll do if we're too late…"

"Cynder, don't think like that," interrupted Spyro, a serious look on his face. "Even if someone told me we had no chance of saving the eggs…or just that we couldn't save ours…I'd still try…" he explained, putting a paw on her shoulder. "I didn't quit when the Chronicler told me you'd turn evil again on the Night of Eternal Darkness…and I won…"

Cynder looked up at him, a small smile forming. "Yeah…yeah you did…you saved me, Spyro…you know, you sure know how to make someone hope, don't you?" she asked, looking at him with another smile.

Spyro smiled back. "It's a gift…" he replied, giving her a comforting nuzzle. "…Come on, let's head back to the group and get ready to head out…" he said, the two heading back towards camp.

Cynder thoughtfully looked out across the desert as they walked, a somewhat anxious expression on her face for the moment, the smile vanishing almost the moment Spyro's eyes weren't on her.

* * *

Cyros flapped her wings, wind tattoo glowing blue as she sent a Wind Cutter to slice a cluster of trees in half. "Oh yeah, I'm loving this…" she said, smirking in a slightly deranged fashion. "I feel so powerful! And once mom deals with Spyro and Cynder, I'll steal their power too…" she continued with a slightly unhinged laugh. "…I could become stronger now though…" she muttered, then took out another purple crystal. "…I wonder if I should…" she mused, looking into the crystal thoughtfully. "…Kage said absorbing this could end badly…but still…" she continued, looking at the crystal, as if mesmerized by it. "All of Empress Tyrania's power…mine…but still, it could be dangerous…"

The crystal glowed lowly. Cyros seemed to almost be in a trance for a moment, four red spots lighting up in the crystal as she looked into it. "Princess!" called Kage, coming through the forest, causing Cyros to put the crystal away quickly. "You shouldn't run off like that, you know this area is dangerous," he stated, genuine concern in his voice.

Cyros sighed. "Yeah, I know…anyway, let's head out."

"Where to, my princess?" asked Kage, watching closely, studying Cyros.

"Back to Serpent's Edge," said Cyros, giving a slightly more unhinged smirk than normal as her eyes lit up green for a second. "I want to watch how things play out."

Kage nodded, hesitantly, an unnerved expression crossing his face.. "Alright, lead the way," he replied, Cyros starting off. "I hope absorbing Venti's power hasn't corrupted her…he's not wasn't as horrible as Tyrania but he still had a black heart…I'd best keep a close eye on her…" he whispered to himself before following.

* * *

Gaia stood in a temple at the edge of the Amber Desert, on the side facing Serpent's Edge. The temple was massive, and rather spectacular in it's appearance, it's walls a soft amber color with golden trim throughout, a trio of silver spires extending from the top, the center one topped by a red moon symbol. "It'd take them most of today normally to cross this desert," she stated, smirking. "But with my new pets standing in their way, it should take just long enough…" she said, then turned to several Metal Warriors. "Keep looking through the temple for Grendel's prize, if they get here early, I've got a surprise in store for them," she stated, smiling as a pair of massive red eyes lit up in the temple. She then took out the book she'd taken with her. "Time to start the show…

* * *

Spyro and his group slowly headed through the desert, a light rain pouring around them. "The rain feels good…" said Cynder, folding her wings up. "Black scales get hot sometimes…" she said, but didn't really seem to mean what she said, as if her mind was elsewhere, thinking of something else.

Ember nodded. "Well I kind of like the heat myself…" she replied, looking about. The sand was still quite warm and felt good under her paws, though it was still kind of moist. Ember slowly looked over the surroundings. Under the darkened sky, the amber sands of the desert stretched for miles, the multitude of sand dunes darkened ever so slightly more by the falling rain, the occasional cactus being all that broke up the endless sands.

Pyrus smiled lightly. "Yeah, me too…" he replied. "But I think it's cause we're Fire Dragons, you know?"

Ember smiled back. "Yeah…I guess that makes sense," she said, once more showing a tad bit of shyness in her face and voice. "Mom used to take me to this hot spring near were we lived. Since Fire Dragons can't swim, so she'd always keep my head afloat so I could just relax…"

"Wow! Really? Mom used to do the same thing with me…" replied Pyrus, getting a little hot under the scales. "Cyros normally stayed off to the side and played with this Naga named Kage who was our babysitter. She's an Ice Dragon, so heat isn't her thing…that was before things got rough between us…"

Ember gave a frown. "I'm sorry that happened…"

Pyrus sighed. "Yeah…but I hope maybe she'll listen someday and we can make up…after things are sorted out with mom…"

Cynder suddenly stopped and looked around. "Something doesn't feel right…" she said, looking around quietly. A chill went down her spine. "I feel like something is watching us…" she muttered, unease in her voice as rain continued to fall over the area.

Pyrus slowly backed up, looking around in a bit of fright. Suddenly, he felt something grab his tail and screamed. He found himself pulled into the air and looking into the red eyes of a humanoid skeleton with bits of burial cloth hanging off of it. "Uh guys!" he yelled, panic in his face before he blasted the skeleton back with his fire breath, landing on his back and quickly scrambling to his feet. "I think I know what's watching us!"

Spyro gasped as more skeletal hands burst out of the ground and the skeleton warriors worked themselves to the surface, most pulling a short sword up behind them. "I think they're Ghouls!"

Demi shivered slightly in fright. "G-ghouls?"

"They're undead monsters, normally animated by magic," said Cynder, snarling fiercely, tail whipping around. "Just fight!" she stated, blocking a sword slash with her tail and blasting it back with a blast of Shadow Fire. It quickly charged her again and she let out her Banshee Scream, stunning it in place and allowing her to leap onto it's chest and stab blast it's head point blank with her poison breath, shattering it to pieces. She growled lowly before settling, but a scowl still crossed her face a bit.

Ember dodged several slashes from the one she was fighting and managed to catch it's sword with her horns before returning fire with a Fire Bomb, blowing it off it's feet. Before it could get back up, she leapt on it's chest and blasted it point blank with her fire breath, blowing it to bits.

Delilah jumped around to evade a overhead slash from her opponent and blew it back with her Fox Fire, allowing Pyrus to slam into it with a Comet Dash and knock it further back. He dodged a counter slash from it and spun around, knocking it's head off with his bone club and causing it to collapse.

Demi leapt out of the way of a trust from one of the Ghouls, then countered by ramming her head into it's chest, fracturing some ribs. As it slashed at her again, she caught it's arm in her mouth and swung it around, slamming it into the sand. She quickly leapt on it's chest and blew it away with an Earth Shot.

Spyro found himself double teamed by two of them, but managed to dodge their attacks. He then flew up, causing them to impale each other with their swords. He then came down surrounded by a boulder and crushed them to dust.

The group came back together after the Ghouls were dealt with. "They actually weren't so hard…" said Ember, a little surprised.

"That's because Ghouls are low level enemies, me and Spyro have been beating them since we were kids," replied Cynder, her voice a little angry for some reason.

"I guess them being here explains what Ignitus said about the restless spirits around here," contained Spyro.

Pyrus smashed a crystal to regain strength. "I'm just glad they don't bleed…I really don't like blood…" he admitted, getting hot under the scales from embarrassment.

"That's nothing to be embarrassed about, Pyrus," comforted Ember, giving him a smile, but also once more having that oddly shy voice once again. "I don't like blood either to be honest…"

Pyrus gave Ember a smile. "Thanks…"

"In all honesty, I don't think anyone really likes blood," stated Cynder, quickly and simply, a hint of urgency in her voice.. "It defiantly makes it easier to fight them though…now come on, we need to head out quickly," she said, continuing on and guiding the others. "And keep an eye out for more Ghouls, just because they're easy doesn't mean they're not dangerous and we can't afford to be slowed down anymore than we have to be."

* * *

"I see…" said Gaia, standing in front of a crystal much like the one Venti had used. The irises of her eyes had grown slightly darker, but otherwise she hadn't changed that much "…Let's see what else this book will let me do. Those Ghouls just aren't up to snuff against these dragons…" she stated, looking through the dark magic book. "…Grublins…hmm, that could work, but Spyro and Cynder know how to deal with them, the pink one probably does too, and they're defiantly outdated…ah, here's something interesting…" she stated, smirking as her finger landed on another spell. "Let's try this one…"

Spyro tackled back a Metal Warlock, this one having created a giant wall of ice encircling the group. He was then smashed back with it's staff and forced to dodge a blast of icy mist from it's staff which froze where he'd been standing solid. "I thought we were done with these guys!" he growled, meeting it's ice blast with a burst of fire.

"Uh guys!" yelled Pyrus, dodging a sword slash against a beheaded Metal Warrior, getting a light cut on his chest. "How do I stop this thing?" he yelled, panic in his voice.

"You don't know how?" asked Cynder, confusion and a little touch of anger in her voice as she blocked a spear slash from the Metal Warrior she was fighting and formed her shadow over her to knock it back with spike erupting out of it. "I thought you knew the Naga stuff!"

Pyrus dodged another slash and blew the Metal Warrior back with a fireball, only for it to get right back up. "Not everything! I didn't know Venti was making stuff like this! I just knew the guy was a scientist!"

Cynder gave a nod, dodging a slash and getting behind the Metal Warrior, coating her tail in poison then driving it through the Warrior's back, shattering it's crystal heart in the process. "Aim for the chest, there's a big crystal in there, break it!" she yelled, throwing the machine aside rather spitefully.

Pyrus nodded, blocking a slash with his remaining horn and freezing it's chest plate solid with a burst of ice before smashing it with his tail club, shattering the gem and "killing" it. "Thanks…" he said, panting lightly as the red shards healed his chest.

Delilah blew back and Metal Warrior with her fox fire and then tore into it's chest, biting it's crystal and tearing it out. "Well, shouldn't waste these, can't use them myself."

Demi crushed the chest of a Metal Warrior with her tail club and looked around, seeing Delilah toss her the crystal from her defeated enemy. "Huh?"

"Well I can't use it, and you dragons need them," replied Delilah.

Demi blinked. "Yeah, that's right…" she replied, her voice slightly meeker than normal as she looked at the crystal. "Thanks…"

Spyro dodged another ice blast from the Metal Warlock and used a Comet Dash, smashing into the crystal on it's staff, the feedback causing it to freeze it's wielder solid. Spyro shattered the machine with an Earth Missile, the ice barrier breaking apart as well. He then walked over to Pyrus. "…Sorry we didn't tell you that from the start…we kind of thought you knew," he apologized, a twinge of guilt in his voice.

Pyrus nodded. "It's alright, I can't blame you for that, all things considered," he replied, giving a small smile.

Spyro nodded lightly. "Alright, let's move on," he stated, leading the way. However, before he could walk forwards, a large, black dog leapt on him and tried to bite his throat, but he managed to knock it off with an Earth Shot quickly.

"What is that?" yelled Sparx, causing it to look and growl at him. "Whoa! Nice demonic doggie! Heel!"

The creature was a huge, dog-like creature flaming eyes and seemed ghostly in appearance, it's skin transparent enough to see a skeletal structure inside. "I don't know, but I don't think it's friendly!" replied Ember, backing up a little fearfully.

"That's a Doom Hound, well that's one of their names and that sounds coolest but can also be said around children…" said Delilah, backing up a bit fearfully. "They're bad, they're from the Netherworld…and they enjoy meat…we're meat…well you are, but I still don't want to end up this thing's dinner."

Spyro snarled and leapt at the monster, only to be blasted back by an intense stream of flames from it's mouth. Spyro groaned, getting back to his feet in time to dodge a pounce from the hound, countering with a burst of his own flames, driving it back. Cynder burst out of her shadow, ready to attack, only to be batted away by the creature's huge paws. Demi tried her luck with a headbutt, but was similarly batted away. Ember used a Comet Dash onto the distracted monster's back and clung on, slashing and biting into it before being bucked off.

Ember screamed as the Hound leapt at her with a bite, only for Pyrus to jump in the way and blast it back with a stream of fire. "Are you alright?" asked Pyrus, looking at the smaller Dragoness worriedly.

Ember felt herself getting hot under the scales, but nodded. "Yeah…I'm ok…thank you…" she said, nervously.

Pyrus nodded, then looked back at the Hound, only to be blasted back with it's fire breath. Ember snarled and got back to her feet, blasting the monster with her Heat Breath and blowing it back.

Cynder reentered the fray and let loose her Banshee Screech, striking the Hound with red sound waves. This caused the monster to yelp and contort in pain. She then went to do it again, but this time a large, red projection of a frightening dragon's head manifested around her, letting out a roar that terrified the Hound before biting down on it. When the manifestation vanished, the Hound howled in pain and fell over, bursting into flames and being reduced to ash and gems. "Another new power, that's always useful…" she stated before turning to the others.

"Alright, where the heck did that thing come from?" asked a quite shaken up Sparx, taking refuge from the rain under his brother's wing as the dragons smashed the gems left behind by the Doom Hound's death to recover.

"Doom Hounds are native to the Netherworld…that's a bad place…" said Delilah, shivering at the thought. "It's like the Spirit World where I came from but the things that live there are…nasty. It's just a really bad plane of existence. Not the worst, but still pretty bad."

"Well Deadlock is using one, it doesn't surprise me she's got another up her sleeve…" said Cynder, a bit of frustration in her voice. "Now come on, we're running out of time," she said, giving a quick, anxious look at the sky to guess the time.

Spyro nodded. "Cynder's right, just because these Hounds are showing up, it doesn't mean we can slow down," he said, leading the way forwards.

* * *

Gaia chuckled somewhat unsettlingly, watching through her crystal. "Yes, that's just what I was looking for, something that needs a lot of effort to bring down and can do some decent damage," she said, her voice slightly more unhinged than normal and a rather disturbed smirk on her face. She then turn to a Metal Warrior as it approached. "Did you find it?" she asked, getting a nod. "Good, bring it to me, I will present it to General Grendel personally…"

* * *

Spyro and Cynder flew around another Doom Hound, blasting it with Poison and Electricity, causing it to roar in pain, allowing Demi to tackle it to the ground with a powerful headbutt, only to be kicked off and then blasted back with it's flames. The Hound spun around, blasting Spyro out of the air with a burst of fire. It then pounced once more, leaping on Cynder and pinning her down. She snarled and let purple venom course around her claws, slashing it's chest and causing it to stagger back dizzily, after which she spat a burst of purple poison into it's eyes to blind it. This allowed Pyrus and Delilah to open fire on it with Pyrus' Fire Bombs and Delilah's Fox Fire. The Hound roared in pain as it was bombarded by the attacks. Spyro got back to his feet and leapt on it's back, driving his ice coated tail through it's back and finishing it off.

Spyro panted. "Those things are tough to take out…" he muttered, smashing a crystal to regain his strength.

"At this point, I'd imagine that's exactly what our attacker is hoping," said Cynder in a slightly angry tone, her and the rest of the dragons smashing the gems to replenish their energy.

Demi nodded. "But we're making progress, let's just keep going, ok?"

The group kept moving, but Ember walked next to Cynder. "Cynder…can I ask you something?" she whispered, shyly.

Cynder nodded, giving a small smile. "Of course, Ember, anything," she replied, though her voice sounded a bit distracted and unfocused, but the anger and frustration vanished just for the moment.

Ember looked up nervously. "Being around Pyrus makes me feel…weird…" she replied, confusion in her voice. "What does that mean?"

Cynder blinked. "Weird? What do you mean weird?" she asked, confusion clear in her voice as her attention finally seemed focused on Ember.

"Like…" started Ember, then gave a sigh. "Like a warm feeling inside me…it's not like my fire…it's…kind of like how being around my dad makes me feel but…different…and I get hot under the scales when I talk to him and get really nervous...I don't understand…"

Cynder gasped lightly after a short pause. "…Tell me, Ember…how did Spyro make you feel when you had a crush on him?"

"Well…happy…really excited…" replied Ember, blinking lightly in confusion. "Like I wanted to be with him…" she said, a pinch of guilt in her voice and face as bad memories returned.

Cynder nodded. "And do you want to be with Pyrus?"

Ember nodded. "Yeah…it's weird…he's so nice…and he likes and dislikes things like I do…it's really nice to be with him…but I don't understand how I feel…"

Cynder smiled lightly. "Ember…I think…" she started, then reconsidered. Ember had just had her heart broken…telling her what she was feeling might not work out… "Well…keep spending time with Pyrus, get to know him better…I'm sure you'll understand what you're feeling then…"

Ember blinked and looked disappointed. "You mean you don't know?…Or you just don't want to tell me?"

Cynder shook her head as they walked. "No, no…it's just this is something you've got to figure out on your own…it's not something someone else can tell you…"

Ember was about to reply when a Ghoul suddenly burst out of the ground beside her and grabbed her leg, causing her to scream. Cynder snarled and quickly sliced the hand off and rather viciously drove her poison coated tail through it's head. She then screamed more and kicked the severed hand off as more Ghouls appeared, this time a Doom Hound leaping in to join them.

"Someone is really trying to make us late!" remarked Delilah, blasting back Ghouls with her Fox Fire.

Pyrus blew back several with his fire breath. "Well the eclipse is tomorrow, stalling us is really all mom has to do now!" he pointed out before blowing up some Ghouls with a Fire bomb.

"I know, and I DON'T like it!" yelled Cynder, fury in her voice before she used a Wind Cutter to cleave a group of Ghouls in half. She then flew at a surviving one and tore it's chest open with her claws, blowing it apart with her Shadow Fire.

Ember blasted back the Doom Hound with her Heat Breath, but was then forced to dodge it's own flames in return, grimacing as the scent of brimstone from the flames hit her nose. Demi took advantage and rammed the monster from the side, knocking it over. As it got back to it's feet, Spyro leapt at it with a Comet Dash, only to be blasted back by it's fire breath. The Doom Hound suddenly spun around and leapt at Demi, tackling her to the ground and pinning her down. With a snarl, it lunged at her throat.

Demi cringed…then noticed nothing happened and opened her eyes, finding the Hound had been frozen solid, steam rising from it's demonic form. She quickly squirmed out from under the frozen beast and looked over, seeing Pyrus, icy vapor still rising from his mouth. "You…you saved me?" she asked, blinking.

Pyrus nodded, giving a smile. "Yeah, what are friends for, right?" he asked, before the ice on the hound shattered, it leaping at Pyrus. However, Ember's Heat Breath struck it and knocked it to the ground hard. "Thanks Ember…" he said, looking at her in surprise.

Ember nodded a little nervously. "…No problem…" she replied, heat returning below her scales before the three Dragons took aim and blasted the Hound with Ember's Heat Breath, Pyrus' Ice Breath, and Demi's Earth Shot, putting it down for good.

Demi looked a little guilty for a moment before reentering the fray, swinging a Ghoul around by the shoulder and smashing it to pieces.

Cynder used the same roar from before to paralyze several Ghouls, the energy fangs snapping down on them afterwards. She then spun around and tried to attack the Ghoul behind her with a Banshee Screech, only for a sphere of red energy to come out instead, hitting the Ghoul and knocking it to the ground. When it got up, it suddenly began running around in blind panic. "Huh?" asked Cynder, blinking as she watched this sight. "That's new…"

"I think you scared him in a different way," said Delilah, blasting several Ghouls to bits with a burst of Fox Fire. "It looks like he thinks something is after him, like an illusion."

Cynder nodded, watching as it began to wear off before blasting several of the Ghouls with the new attack, sending them into the same panic. She quickly used her Poison Breath to destroy them while they couldn't counter. "So my basic Fear attacks paralyze, this one sends them into a panic, good to know…"

After the area was cleared out, Spyro walked over to the others. "Alright, we're almost there…" he said, looking towards Serpent's edge, where a large temple was just barely visible through the rain.

"But it's almost nighttime…" said Ember, looking at the sky, which was growing darker by the minute.

"I don't care…" said Cynder, seriously, anger and barely contained frustration in her voice. "We're so close to Serpent's Edge and the eclipse is tomorrow. We've got to go!"

"Cynder, I want to end this too, I want the eggs and our loved ones back more than anything," said Spyro, determination in his eyes, but also a bit of anxiety. "But we'll have to fight Deadlock to stop her, we can't do that if we're exhausted. She's much too strong for that. We should rest and storm Serpent's Edge early in the morning."

Cynder was about to reply when Pyrus stepped up. "I agree with Spyro. There's a guard change every morning at about an hour before sun rise," he explained. "If we sneak in then, we'll avoid the guards and not have to fight much of anyone except my mother…" he stated, though showed a bit of hesitance in mentioning fighting his mother. "We could get in there quickly and do what needs to be done before the sun even rises."

"Well…should we listen to him?" asked Sparx, hovering once more under his brother's wing to avoid the rain.

"…I think we should," said Ember, standing next to Pyrus. "He's done nothing to betray our trust, has he?"

Demi stepped forwards. "I agree…" she said, looking down shyly.

Sparx blinked. "Wait…why?" he asked. "Not that he's not trustworthy, but you were the one saying we shouldn't trust the guy."

"He saved me from that Doom Hound…I think we should trust him…" replied Demi, a little more conviction in her voice.

Cynder snarled. "Fine!" she yelled, anger boiling in her face as she swung around towards the temple. "Let's just go!"

"Cynder…what's wrong?" asked Spyro, concern clear in his face at his mate's sudden outburst.

"Nothing, nothing is wrong!" retorted Cynder, anger and disappointment clear in her face as she turned, her tail forcing Spyro to duck as it whipped fiercely. "Let's just go!" she repeated, stomping off towards the temple.

"Cynder!" called Spyro, worriedly as his furious mate continued forwards. "Cynder!" he called again, running after her, the others following..

As the group moved on ahead, Sparx sighed. "Great, first we're spending the night in a spooky temple, and now little miss darkness has lost it, what next?" he exclaimed, then looked worried. "Wait…better not tempt fate…" he stated, looking around worriedly before flying after the group.

* * *

A Metal Warrior walked up to Gaia and kneeled before her, presenting a wrapped object, which she took from him. Opening it, she discovered an orange jewel in the shape of a crescent moon. "The Moon Jewel…good work," she stated, wrapping the crystal once more and putting it away. "It'll be a lovely gift for my beloved Grendel. Now, all that remains is to stall those Dragons just a little while longer…" she said, giving a small, but increasingly unhinged smirk.

"Things are getting interesting," said Gaia, slithering back into the temple.

* * *

Yeah, Delilah has a WEIRD past. Can anyone guess what dimensions she was refering to? Anyway, Cynder's get angry, I wonder what's getting to her? And it looks like Gaia and Cryos are both finding out messing with evil has a price to pay. We're on the final stretch now! Stay tuned!


	25. Final Stretch

Hello, everyone! Time for the new chapter! Today, we continue to progress towards the climax! Were will this lead? What does Gaia have in store for the group? We'll just have to wait and see! Enjoy!

* * *

**Final Stretch**

"Cynder!" yelled Spyro, finally catching up with her near the temple entrance, panting. "What's wrong?" he asked, confusion plain on his face.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! Just drop it already!" responded Cynder, anger still in her voice. "Let's just go inside, rest for the night, then in the morning, I can get _my_ egg back!"

Spyro looked confused, but before he could respond, a sinister laugh came from the nearby, causing the group to turn to see Commander Gaia slither out of the temple. "My my, what have we here?" asked the Naga Commander, though she looked more unhinged than before. Her eyes were slightly sunken in and the irises in her eyes had turned a dark red color.

"Gaia…w-what happened to you?" asked Pyrus, horrified by the marked change in appearance on the Naga Commander.

"What ever do you mean, you traitorous little prince?" asked Gaia, her voice having an ever so slight distortion, as if there was more than one voice talking at once, the others just barely being audible. Her breathing also seemed somewhat labored, as if she was out of breath. "I could ask you the same thing. Siding with the enemy and all."

"Gaia! What mom is doing is wrong! I can't let her do something like that!" replied Pyrus, still looking at Gaia's corrupted appearance in horror. "And I'm still her son, if you try anything to me you'll be sorry!"

Gaia laughed. "Little Pyrus…do you really think all the Naga are as loyal to you as you think we are?"

Pyrus blinked. "What do you mean?"

"A great many of us believe you shouldn't be prince," said Gaia, giving a more unhinged smile. "You're a pacifist, that doesn't quite work for us…but that doesn't matter, what matters is we're both here, it's time we fight, isn't it?" she asked, then gave a extremely deranged laugh.

Sparx gave a shiver. "Man that's a creepy laugh!"

"I don't know what's happened to her…" said Pyrus, fright in his voice. "She seems so…wrong, just wrong!"

"She's corrupted," said Spyro, a bit of pity in his voice. "She must be the source of the black magic we were warned about. She's been using it all this time and it's corrupted her…" he stated, a twinge of sorrow in his voice at the sight.

Delilah gave a sigh. "Why can't people just learn to stay away from black magic?"

"Corrupted or not, she's not getting in our way!" snarled Cynder before charging. She leapt at Gaia, only for the agile Naga to whip around and dodge, driving a stiff palm strike into her side and knocking her away.

"Cynder!" yelled Spyro, then snarled and breathed fire at Gaia, who once more dodged, almost dancer-like before her tattoos lit up green and she threw her hands forwards, launching clumps of rock and blasting Spyro away.

"Come on, give me your best shot!" replied the increasingly deranged Naga commander, laughing insanely as she moved.

Ember and Demi charged and attacked with Ember's Heat Breath and Demi's Earth Shot. Once more Gaia agilely dodged the attacks and flew forwards, slamming a fist into each of their chests and launching them backwards.

Ember and Demi coughed a little bit, the blow having knocked the wind out of them. "She's really fast…" muttered Ember, trying to catch her breath.

Pyrus growled. "Quit hurting my friends, Gaia!" he yelled, snarling.

"Why don't you do something about it, little prince?" asked Gaia in return. "Or are you too much of a pacifist to hurt a Naga?"

Pyrus looked down sorrowfully. He then looked back at Gaia. He looked at his friends as they got back up from the blows, only for a blast of Gaia's Earth Missiles to knock them away. His face turned to a snarl. "Not when my friends are getting hurt…" he growled as Gaia prepared to fire another Earth Missile, only for Pyrus to freeze her hand solid, allowing Ember to strike her chest with a Comet Dash. "You're right, Gaia, I don't want to hurt a Naga…but if there's no other way, I will!"

Gaia got back to her feet and used a martial arts chop to shatter the ice off her hand. "Touching, really it is," she stated, giving another unhinged smirk and laugh. "But I still don't think you've got it in you," she stated before sending an Earth Shot his way and blasting him back.

Ember snarled fiercely at this, leaping on Gaia's back and biting her shoulder. Ember's body superheated, burning the Naga commander. "Leave him alone!" she yelled, her voice muffled.

Gaia snarled in rage and elbowed Ember in the stomach, knocking the air out of her and grabbing her by the horns before throwing her a good distance away. Gaia gave a growl and charged her, doing a spin and trying to slam her tail down on Ember's head. She was stopped inches away by Pyrus' horns. "I said stop hurting my friends!" he yelled, blasting Gaia in the chest with a Fire Bomb and blowing her back. He quickly looked to Ember. "Are you alright?"

Ember looked up, once more becoming hot under her scales. "…Y-yes, t-thank you," she said, taking his paw and being helped up.

Pyrus felt his face getting hot as well and blinked. "It was nothing, you're my friend after all…" he replied, smiling nervously.

Cynder snarled and pounced on Gaia's back, charging poison into her claws and trying to slash into the Naga Commander but her forelegs were caught and she was flipped over head. Gaia snarled and did a spin, attempting to crush Cynder under her tail, only for the black dragoness to rise up shadow spikes. Gaia howled in pain as her tail slammed down on the spikes and leapt back.

Spyro didn't give Gaia time to breath and flew in from behind, sending bursts of electricity into her from behind. "This is getting really annoying!" she yelled, swinging her tail around and wrapping it around Spyro's midsection before slamming him to the ground.

"He's annoying?" yelled Cynder, pouncing on Gaia's back and stabbing her with her tail blade. "You're annoying! If it wasn't for you, we'd been in Serpent's Edge by now!" she screamed, bitterness and rage erupting as she stabbed Gaia's shoulder.

"That's the idea!" said Gaia, slamming her head into Cynder's face to stun her before grabbing her by the forearm and flipping her overhead.

Demi suddenly charged in and head butted Gaia, sending her flying back, only to be struck in the face with an Earth Missile and knocked back. Delilah leapt out of nowhere and landed on Gaia's back, lifting her tails and blasting the Naga Commander with Fox Fire. Gaia growled and grabbed the Kitsune by the leg, swinging her around and throwing her into the rising Spyro.

Ember and Pyrus reentered the fray and blasted Gaia with their fire breath from behind, lighting her robe on fire. Gaia snarled, but didn't seem to notice as the rain quickly put out the flames and she fired Earth Missiles at the two, only to be dodged. Spyro and Cynder both flew in from behind and blasted her with poison and fire, blasting her down.

As the dragons landed to watch and wait to see if Gaia would stand up, the Naga started emitting very unhinged laughter and rising to her feet. "Very nice try, this has been such fun!" she said, laughing insanely once again. "But I've got to get going, it looks like you'll just have to make due with my little friend," she stated, whistling, causing a pair of bright red eyes to light up in the temple.

"W-what is that?" asked Sparx, hiding behind Spyro.

An enormous skeletal serpent suddenly burst through the temple doors, eyes glowing red as it roared and glared down at the group, wrappings and burial cloth wrapped around it's ancient body. "I found it buried here and brought it back to life," stated Gaia, smiling before having another fit of psychotic laughter. "Have fun!" she laughed before slithering off.

"Oh great, like we didn't have enough to deal with!" yelled Cynder, snarling in rage and dodging the snake's tail as it slammed it down at her. She replied with a burst of poison breath to it's face.

Spyro flew up and sent a torrent of flames into the snake's face, but then had to dodge a bite from it before being sent flying back with a headbutt. Pyrus and Ember flew in and let loose their fire breath on it's back, dodging it's tail but then being bashed away by its head. Demi joined in, charging forwards and slamming her head into it's side with tremendous force, managing to knock it into a wall before it sent a blast of green flames from it's mouth and blasted her off. Delilah was next, landing on it's head and hanging on tight as she fired blasts of blue flames into it's head. She managed to continue this for about a minute before being bucked off and knocked aside with it's tail.

Cynder growled and let loose a Wind Cutter, slashing deep into the bony armor of the serpent, getting it's attention. After she let loose a burst of Shadow Fire into it's face, it snarled and replied by blasting her back with a burst of green fire. Spyro reentered the fray, firing a bolt of lightning into the snake's chest, shocking it badly before it swung it's tail around and sent him flying into a wall fairly hard. Pyrus flew in and let sent a stream of ice into it's back, freezing parts of it solid, Ember following up with a Fire Bomb that shattered the ice and some of the bone beneath it. Before they could follow up, the snake swung it's tail around and bashed them, launching them hard against the temple's side.

* * *

Gaia panted, making her way up a cliff standing between her and Serpent's Edge. To her surprise, Grendel's hand came down and grabbed hers, pulling her up. "Grendel…thank you…" she panted, smiling lightly up to her beloved.

Grendel smiled back. "I was just making sure you were alright…did you get the crystal?" he asked, looking down at her curiously. Gaia nodded, pulling out the bagged crystal, allowing Grendel to take it out and look at the Moon Jewel and look it over. "Good, the final piece of the puzzle is in my hands…"

Gaia cringed, holding her head. "W-what's happening to me?" she asked, her breathing labored.

Grendel looked back at her. "Probably a side effect of using so much black magic…"

Gaia gasped. "You…you knew this could happen?" she asked, shock in her face.

"Yes, but don't worry," said Grendel, smiling a bit and pulling her close, allowing her to hug him. "It won't last long…"

"Alright…I trust you…" said Gaia, before moving in to kiss him. Suddenly, she gasped in agony, looking down to find one of Grendel's lower arms driving a sword straight through her stomach and out her back.

Grendel smirked lightly. "That was your first mistake…" he whispered, looking into Gaia's horrified eyes, taking in the betrayed stare she was giving him, the disbelief in her face. "And your last…"

"B-but…I l-loved you…w-why?" asked Gaia, her voice in complete disbelief as she stuttered from pain.

"That's exactly why," said Grendel, without emotion tearing the sword out of Gaia's gut and turning to head back to Serpent's Edge with his prize.

Gaia crawled after him, holding her mortal wound as flames began to rise from her body and tears fell from her eyes in vast numbers. "Grendel…please…don't do this…I…I love you!" she pleaded, her voice broken and cracking with heartbreak. "I love you…"

Grendel looked back and chuckled. "…And that's what made you weak and easy to manipulate. Unlike you, Spyro, Cynder, and Deadlock, I lack that weakness," he stated simply, holding up the two mystic relics he'd pilfered and looking them over. "The only thing that matters to me in this whole world will be made possible by these two little jewels. And thanks to you, it will be mine!" he finished, turning back towards Serpent's Edge. "Thank you…for being so gullible," he stated, slowly slithering away.

Gaia gasped, her face losing any semblance of hope it might have had. All that remained was pure despair and heartbreak. "I loved you…I loved you…" she muttered, beginning to sob openly, repeating that same heartbroken words over and over as finally, she collapsed, burning to ashes which the rain slowly washed away…

* * *

Spyro flew over the skeleton snake's head, blasting it with Earth Missiles and driving it's head down and allowing Delilah to jump up and bite onto the ridge of one of it's eyes, blasting into it with her Fox Fire and causing it to roar and buck in pain, but she hung tight. "I knew those bull riding lessons would come in handy!" she shouted, hanging on despite being bucked around.

Cynder sent another Wind Cutter into the monster's side, cutting another deep gash. Pyrus and Ember blasted the monster from each side, lighting it's burial cloth aflame and causing it to roar in again before Demi leapt into it full force, launching I backwards into the wall, Delilah leaping off as it happened.

The group slowly watched the monster lay, seemingly defeated. "Don't get too close, its probably not dead," stated Delilah, seriously. Sure enough, it suddenly spouted green flames from it's entire body in all directions, blasting the entire group away in one shot. The serpent rose up once again and roaring in fury.

Cynder snarled, getting to her feet. "That's it! I've had enough!" she yelled, eyes lighting up red as red energy swirled around her.

"Take cover!" yelled Spyro, seeing what was coming, the group jumping to their feet and all hiding behind anything that was visible.

The red energy swirled around her and formed into a gigantic, terrifying dragon composed of red energy which roared, blasting the snake with red sonic waves and freezing it in place with blind terror. It then swung it's tail around and smashed the snake to bits in one shot.

"Wow! That's awesome!" yelled Ember, eyes sparkling with amazement. "So that's what a Fear Fury looks like!" she exclaimed, running up as Cynder returned to normal. "Awesome job Cynder! That was so awesome!" she shouted, only to whimper when Cynder swung around at her with a very angry glare. "C-Cynder?" she asked, backing up in fear.

"Cynder!" shouted Spyro, running up. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, concern and worry in his face. "I know you're upset we're not going straight there, but this isn't like you…"

Cynder snarled, turning around to face the group. "You're right, it isn't! And you know why?" she yelled, repressed rage streaming out as she spoke. "Because my baby is so close and I can't do anything about it! My friends, and even my mate, are keeping me from rescuing it, Spyro! Do you have any idea what that feels like? Any idea how frustrating that is? How maddening that is to be so close to the thing you've wanted your entire life within arms reach and something keeps stopping you from reaching it?"

Spyro took a step back. "Of course I do, Cynder! Its my egg too!" he replied, knowing that he had to try to relate to her situation as best he could.

"Then act like it!" screamed Cynder in a fury. "This entire time, I've been the one whose cried her eyes out! The one whose been worried sick! Ember looked more upset over our egg getting kidnapped than you did!" she yelled, the words coming out with venom on every one.

Spyro looked hurt. "But Cynder…I…I was just trying to be strong for-"

"I didn't want you to be strong for me!" interrupted Cynder, panting from her own outburst. "I wanted to not be alone anymore!" she screamed, the rain pouring down heavier.

Spyro blinked, confusion and hurt plain on his face. "But Cynder…you're not alone…"

"You're wrong, Spyro! People can say "I know how you feel", but NO ONE knows how I feel! No one has EVER been put through the living Hell I had to for twelve years of my life! No one has ever spent half of their life as a madman's puppet forced to kill and torture her own race! I killed my own mother and _tortured_ my father, all without even knowing it! And there's not another being on this entire planet that I can talk to and they'll be able to understand what that feels like! No one understands me!" yelled Cynder, years of repressed bitterness finally erupting out all at once. "For once in my life, I was expecting someone to actually be able to say "I know how you feel," and I can tell they're right! But Spyro, every time you tell me you know how I feel, you're not the one crying his eyes out! You tell me not to think about what could happen to that egg but since we stepped foot in this desert, that's ALL I've been able to think about! I didn't want you to be strong for me! I wanted you to show you did feel like I did! I just wanted to not be alone anymore!" she yelled, silence falling over the area except for her panting.

Cynder finally settled, the realization slowly dawning on her of what she said, horror and guilt surging into her face as she saw her friends faces full of hurt and confusion…except Delilah, who just watched with a strange understanding. "Spyro…Spyro, I'm so sorry," she said, in disbelief as she looked her hurt and confused mate in the face. "…I-I was just so frustrated…we're so close to everyone and we keep getting delayed…" she muttered, wings and tail lowering in sorrow. "…You were just trying to help, you didn't deserve that…it was selfish of me to expect you to know that…"

"No…don't feel bad, Cynder," said Spyro after a brief pause. He looked up at her slowly. "You're right…I haven't been showing you that I feel the same way you do about this…I'm the one who needs to be sorry…" he explained, guilt and sorrow manifesting in his face. "…I'm used to everyone looking to me for hope…to be strong so they can be…it comes with being the legendary hero, its expected of me now…"

Spyro sighed, looking down at his paws. "…So that's why I keep everything hidden…why I don't let you or anyone else see how scared or upset I really am…I don't want to let them down…but you're not them…you're my mate…" he explained, looking his mate in the eyes, tears rising up in his own. "I should've seen that you don't need that…you don't expect it from me…in all honesty, I should've enjoyed finally having someone who expects me to show how I feel for once…" he muttered, thinking as tears ran down his face.

"…I do know what it's like to feel alone sometimes…" continued Spyro, looking up as he finally let his emotions come completely to the surface, tears streaming down his face and worry in his eyes. "…No one else knows what it's like to be the Purple Dragon…what it's like to have all this responsibility on their shoulders…I'm the hero everyone looks to…no one knows what that feels like…I'll never know what it's like to go through what you did…but I can relate a little…"

Spyro walked up and nuzzled his mate solemnly. "I'm worried…I'm upset…I want our baby back too…I want my parents back…and I want Hunter back…I'm sorry I've been hiding how I feel so much…I'm sorry…" he said, looking down at his feet.

Cynder slowly nuzzled him and laid her head over his shoulder, letting her own hidden emotions surface and crying along with him. "…Sometimes it's good to let your emotions out…" she said, softly. "…Cyros told me that…I don't like people to see me cry either…but if there's anyone we should let see how we feel…it's each other…"

Spyro nodded slowly, laying his head over her shoulder, letting himself cry for the first real time. "You're right…I'm sorry…"

Demi looked silently to the rest of the group. "I think they need some privacy, let's go see if the temple is safe now that Gaia is gone…" she stated, leading the rest of the group into the temple slowly.

"Now come on, that must've been new," said Sparx to Delilah. "You can't have seen THAT before."

Delilah gave some thought. "Well there were some of the 11 instances of someone having the curse beaten out of them, especially the one from that one dimension with the unicorns, ponies, and pegasi, since it started with bitterness and anger but ultimately ended in those involved making amends with each other. But those were _sisters_ so this is different," Delilah stated, before looking back at Spyro and Cynder consoling and comforting one another with a serious look. "Still, it's touching to see people make up, no matter how many times I see it," she stated. "Sometimes things happen and we have to work it out, no matter how long it takes. Our relationships with those we care about are just that important. We just have to trust the ones we care about."

Sparx blinked. "That was a pretty…poetic statement…"

"Thanks!" said Delilah, snapping back to her normal personality. "One of my friends in that universe writes stuff like that all the time to report to the older of the two sisters I mentioned on whatever lesson she learned. I spent a lot of time there, since it's hard to find a universe that has lots of mythical creatures, dragons and kitsunes and such are considered mythical creatures in most universes, and doesn't have some weird masquerade to hide them from the local population, which is _so_ annoying when you just want to have fun and make friends as yourself," she explained in her normal, rapid voice. "The universes were people try to _capture_ you thinking you're a ghost or something or they just hate mythical stuff in general for whatever reason are even _more._"

"That's why I like that universe so much, and this one too. And the other ones with Spyros in them. I can just make friends and be me without having to worry about freaking everyone out or getting sucked into a tiny container by ghost and/or monster hunters and thrown into another dimension...again," explained Delilah after pausing to take a deep breath, then mumbling under he breath about the other dimension thing for a moment. "But there's not always a villain running around, causing chaos in that universe. It's fun to fight evil, but other times it's more fun to just relax at a party with friends and not have to worry about some evil villain bursting dramatically through the wall and a big fight breaking out…" she continued, then gasped in realization. "Oh dear! I forgot!"

Sparx jumped at her sudden exclamation. "What? What is it?"

"One of my friends in that universe, the one who through a part for me just for showing up, remember?" asked Delilah, now a little frantic. "I forgot her birthday! I've got to go write an apology letter and send it to her, ASAP!" she exclaimed, running off into the temple at high speeds.

Sparx just watched bewildered. "…That's got to be the weirdest girl I've ever met…how do you send an apology letter to someone in an alternate universe?" he mused, before following the group.

* * *

Deadlock looked over the eggs before her with a sigh. "…Little ones…your parents will get the chance I never got…someone will give you a chance to be saved…" said the ice head softly. "…But we are beyond forgiveness now…we've gone too far to turn back…we will have our revenge or die trying…"

Grendel suddenly burst into the room. "My queen! Commander Gaia has fallen!" he reported. "But she succeeded in her mission, Spyro's group has been stalled for the night into the Amber Desert."

Deadlock nodded slowly. "Alright…please, send our condolences to Gaia's family and friends…we'll have a proper funeral for her and the other two Commanders when this is all over…" said the electric head.

Grendel nodded. "Yes, my queen," she said, heading out of the room.

Deadlock's heads looked to one another. "…Tomorrow is the day…the final battle…" said the ice head slowly.

The fire head nodded. "When revenge will be ours…"

"And we'll see this through to the end…" said the electric head, solemnly.

"My sisters…" said the ice head, calmly looking to her other heads. "…No matter what happens tomorrow…I love you both…"

The fire and electric heads nodded in return. "As do I…" said the electric head, smiling lightly to her fellow heads.

The fire head managed a small smile. "The same for me…we'll always be together…no matter what happens now…"

"Alright…let's get some rest…tomorrow…we fight…" said the ice head, slowly heading towards their room.

* * *

Spyro and Cynder slowly walked into the temple and laid down in a spot set aside for them, the others already asleep. "Spyro…" said Cynder, looking up at him. "…I'm glad we got all that off our chests…"

Spyro nodded back, giving a small smile. "I agree…" he replied, thinking. "…If we hadn't, then we'd be going into Deadlock's lair frustrated and upset…even when we have an outburst and get mad at each other…it's better to work through it before it becomes a real problem…now we can fight Deadlock on the same page…"

Cynder nodded. "I agree…I'm sorry I was so angry though…"

Spyro nuzzled her lightly. "I know…but we all lose our temper sometimes…it's just part of being alive."

Cynder nodded slowly, nuzzling him back. "…I know…Spyro…do you think…do you think we'll be able to save everyone?"

Spyro nodded slowly. "Yes…I think we can…"

Cynder shook her head. "Spyro, I mean _everyone_," she repeated, looking slowly to the sleeping Pyrus with a worried look. "Deadlock is his mother…she's not like Malefor, she's not evil…she's just suffering and hurt…will we be able to save her?"

Spyro looked serious, giving it consideration. "…I don't know…" he replied, letting the worry that though brought him show on his face. "…I'm not sure…maybe we can, maybe we can't…I hope we can though…" he continued, looking back at her. "You're right, Deadlock is a victim in all this just like us…Malefor the one who is truly to blame for all of this…even all this time later he's still causing this world so much pain and suffering…"

Cynder nodded, giving a growl at the thought of the Dark Master. "…He's gone…the world is a better place because of it…but it'll take a lot of time for the world to recover from what he's done to everyone in it…" she agreed, a look of anger on her face as she remembered their battles with Malefor. "…Deadlock lost everything because of Malefor, it's not her fault she's like this…I just hope she's not too far gone to save…for her sake and Pyrus'…I don't want to kill the mother of someone I care about…"

Spyro sighed, giving it thought. "But we can't let her get away with this…she was a product of Malefor's actions, but we can't let her sacrifice six eggs for any reason at all…it's not right…" he continued, looking out the temple door into the night. "…We'll do everything we can to save her…but we have to be prepared to end it if there's no other choice…"

Cynder gave a sad sigh but nodded. "I know…but may the Ancestors not let it come to that…"

Spyro nodded slowly and nuzzled her again. "I agree…let's get some sleep now…" he instructed, knowing they needed all the rest they could get.

Cynder gave him a nuzzle back and yawned. "Yeah…goodnight, Spyro, I love you…" she said, smiling softly before laying her head across his back.

Spyro smiled lightly and laid his head across her back. "…I love you too, goodnight…" he replied, letting himself fall asleep.

* * *

Cyros landed at the opening to Serpents Edge. "Just as I thought, mother was too caught up in her ritual to notice me and Pyrus had left," she said, her voice unhinged and coming close to psychotic now. "Now all we have to do is sit back, relax, and watch the fireworks," she said, giving a sadistic smirk before heading inside.

Kage sighed, watching this take place. To his shock, he noticed a black, discolored pattern beginning to expand out from the wind tattoo on Cyros' body. "…Its just as I was afraid of…" he muttered. "Cyros!" he called, quickly, coming closer as fast as he could. "You must surrender Venti's power at once! It's corrupting you! I was afraid this would happen, remember?"

Cyros spun around and snarled. "Oh, you think so?" she asked, giving a glare. "Well how do I know you don't just want his power for yourself?" she asked, her deranged mind twisting concern into malicious intent. "Nice try, but I'm not falling for it!" she said, then gave a psychotic laugh before she ran off towards her room.

Kage watched this in horror, guilt covering his face. "…Princess…what have I let happen to you?" he asked, guilt and sorrow on his face. "…What have we done?" he asked, watching the young princess run, unsure of what she'd do in her current mindset…

* * *

Grendel stood in front of a large army of Naga atop a high platform carved from stone. "The queen's plan will come to pass tomorrow!" he announced, getting cheers. "And so shall ours! Tomorrow, after thousands of years of living in this forgotten land, cut off from the world, we Naga will rise again!" he announced, getting more cheers. "Be ready, my brethren! For the time has come at last!" he yelled, causing the Naga to chant his name. "Tomorrow, revenge is ours!" he yelled, getting a massive cheer.

Grendel smiled, turning away from his armory and looking at the Sun and Moon Jewels in his hand. "…No, revenge isn't ours…it's mine…all mine," he said, giving a laugh…

* * *

Well, another chapter done! I bet poor Gaia didn't see that coming! I decided to write Deadlock's heads talking to each other as sisters for once as they really are, but normally refer to each other as one being with a plural pronoun but it was more personal this way.

It's so much fun writing Delilah, since she's pretty much a completely different kind of character than everyone else and confuses the heck out of them.

Next chapter, the final battle begins! How will this all end? We'll have to wait and see!


	26. Endgame

Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay, but I had to read a LOT for my english classes and pretty much burned myself out for two weeks...that and I got sick and wasn't feeling well. It wasn't really until today I felt up to finishing this chapter, so if this chapter isn't up to snuff, that's probably why as well. My apologies! Alright, we're at the climax of the story! The final battles are upon us! Will the heroes succeed against Deadlock? We'll just have to see!

EDIT: I have rewritten the ending of this chapter a good deal, if you've read this before, re-read at least that part!

* * *

**Endgame**

Spyro and company slowly got ready, it was early in the morning, before the sun had even rose. As they'd planned, they would sneak in during the guard change. But they couldn't rush, everything would depend on the outcome of the upcoming battle and they all knew it.

Sparx floated nearby, watching. For once, he had no intention of complaining. This time, he had good reason to be onboard with everyone; his parents were being held captive, and he still loved that egg as much as Spyro, it was his nephew after all. He then looked over, seeing Delilah wrapping up a scroll in a red ribbon. "What are you doing?" he asked, confusion in his voice as he flew over.

"Oh, just sending my response message to my friend, she got back to me earlier," said Delilah, waving one of her tails in the air next to her, opening up a blue vortex in the air that she slid the message through.

Sparx blinked, staring at the strange vortex. "W-what's that?"

"Dimensional portal, duh!" replied Delilah, once more in that tone of voice implying it was perfectly normal.

"Oh…" replied Sparx, looking at it with a perplexed look on his face. "So that goes to the dimension of the talking magical horses?"

Delilah nodded. "Yep, want to take a peek? It's safe, I promise."

Sparx cautiously flew over. After looking it over for a second, he stuck his head through and then came back out with a look of confusion on his face. "… Why is everything flat there?"

"Oh, it's not flat, it just looks like it to someone from this universe," explained Delilah, as if this were a completely normal thing to be talking about. "This universe looks bulgy to people from that universe."

"Oh… Ok…" replied Sparx, confusion still clear in his face. "So… Did she mind you missed her party?"

Delilah shook her head, giving a small smile. "No, she said it was fine. Her friends threw her a surprise party and she had fun. But she said next time to send a message ahead if I was coming so there won't be cupcakes there."

Sparx blinked. "What are those?"

"Oh, they're a snack food," explained Delilah, hitting herself lightly on the head. "My bad, forgot you don't have those here. I can't eat them though..."

Sparx nodded, still confused. "Ok… Are you like allergic to them or something?"

Delilah shook her head. "No, I'm deathly afraid of them, ever since the Cupcakes Incident…" she explained, getting a completely bewildered look from Sparx. "Oh… There was an incident... In a parallel universe… Trust me, you _don't _want to know… Just know to be _very _careful when dealing with alternate universe versions of people you know…" she explained, then gave a frightened shiver. "That poor Pegasus…" she muttered, looking quite upset for a second.

Sparx simply blinked, rather confused by this, but deciding not to push it, seeing how upset she was by…whatever happened. "Ok then…" he said simply, unsure of what to say.

"Everyone!" called Spyro, walking over with Cynder. "Time to go," he said, everyone getting ready. "Alright. This won't be easy, but we have to do this."

"I know where the dungeon is, I'll lead the others down there and we'll free the captives while you two defeat Deadlock," said Pyrus, trying to be helpful.

Cynder nodded, still with a slightly anxious look to her. "Alright, let's go…" she said, letting Pyrus lead the way out of the temple, towards Serpent's Edge.

* * *

Grendel slowly slithered up to a large statue of a seven headed serpent atop Serpent's Edge. Cast from bronze, it had green eyes in each head and a hole exactly in the center of it's chest, two outer heads in line with it. He put the sun and moon jewels into those heads and stood back. "Perfect…once the sun begins to rise, the ritual will begin," he said, smiling as he circled the statue. "The power to take my vengeance on those pathetic dragons will be in my claws and they will suffer!" he stated, laughing sinisterly as he slithered back to wait for his plan to come to fruition.

* * *

The group slowly peeked around a rock as guards filed into Serpent's Edge to switch off. At Pyrus' signal, the group snuck in after them, then hide as the replacements took their positions.

"Alright, the guard switch is over, but we're in," said Pyrus. "Most of the Naga are still asleep at the moment…" he explained. "Mom's chamber is down that way, just keep going straight and you'll find it, the big door with the golden trim is really hard to miss."

"And you three head downstairs and free the prisoners," replied Cynder, getting nods from them. "Alright, good luck everyone…" she said, a little nervous, but holding herself together.

"Don't worry, I've been in tougher spots than this," said Delilah, giving a thoughtful look. "Well I've seen heroes in tougher spots, like that one time when those guys in color coded costumes had to fight-"

"No time, let's go," said Pyrus, pulling Delilah along as he, Demi, and Ember started off.

"Sparx…" said Spyro in a serious tone, looking to his brother.

Sparx blinked. "What is it?" he asked, seeing Spyro's seriousness.

"I want you to go with them," replied Spyro, looking thoughtful and worried. "Deadlock is targeting our loved ones, that's why Drake and Blaze couldn't come with us… It won't be like the other enemies we've fought, she _will_ target you just to hurt us… I want you to go with Pyrus and his group… So you'll be safe."

Sparx was about to retort, when he saw how worried Spyro looked. Sparx sighed. "But… Yeah, you're right… Will you be ok without me there with you?"

Spyro nodded slowly. "Yeah, don't worry."

Sparx nodded softly, then looked to Cynder. "… Keep an eye on him, ok?"

Cynder nodded thoughtfully. "Of course, Sparx, don't worry."

Sparx sighed. "Alright… Just be careful," he replied, flying off after the other group.

Cynder put a paw on Spyro's back. "You did the right thing, we can't put him at risk because of us, Deadlock would just attack him to hurt you."

Spyro sighed, then gave a nod. "You're right… Let's hurry, there's not a lot of time…" he said, turning in the direction Pyrus directed them… Then slowly turning back to wave to Sparx one last time before he and Cynder continued forwards.

* * *

"… And then the ship blew up and everyone lived happily until the next major villain arrived," finished Delilah, speaking as she and the others walked, entering a huge stone chamber. It had a small openning at the top to let in light, the rest provided by gems hanging on the ceiling. A great many stalactites hanged around them, water slowly dripping from them.

Ember blinked. "Why did the bad guy turn into a giant squid?" she asked, curiosity in her voice from the strange story.

Delilah shrugged. "Don't know, he just said it was his true form. Though his head kind of looked like an octopus anyway…"

Sparx sighed. "Alright, it's official, your life is at least nine times weirder than mine is!"

Delilah chuckled lightly. "Oh that's nothing, you should hear about this one time I went to this world where monsters composed of desir-"

"Hold up," interrupted Pyrus, looking around. He sniffed the air and gave a small growl. "Cyros!" he called, looking around. "I know you're there! Come out!"

A deranged laugh suddenly came from the shadows. Cyros slithered her way out from a ledge. "Hello brother! How are you doing?" she asked, her voice unhinged as a crazed smile crossed her face. The black pattern had spread a good bit more now.

"C-Cyros?" asked Pyrus, shock in his voice. "What happened to you?"

Cyros gave another deranged laugh. "I absorbed Commander Venti's power! Thank you so much for beating him for me!" she said, circling her brother and his group in an almost predatory fashion. "And now, I'm finally going to get my rightful place as princess… By taking out the only other heir," she stated, before giving another psychotic laugh.

"She looks a lot like Gaia did…" muttered Demi timidly, watching the now insane dragoness circle.

"Pyrus…" said Delilah, her serious voice now showing itself again. "Absorbing Venti's power must've tainted her with his evil," she explained, slowly. "She's not herself… She's like her and Venti merged together… Well not physically, but her mindset… I've seen both happen to someone, this one time at the same time. Anyway, this isn't your sister, Pyrus… Not right now…"

"Cyros… Don't do this," pleaded Pyrus with a hurt look on his face. "Please…" he said, hearing Delilah, but not really listening.

"No, I've made up my mind," said Cyros, giving another chuckle. "You're going to die!" she exclaimed, going into another bought of psychotic laughter.

Pyrus sighed, then looked to the rest of the group. "…Guys, head on to get the prisoners… Cyros is my sister… I can't let you get hurt because of me…" he admitted, realizing Delilah was right and Cyros wasn't herself and probably wouldn't listen to reason. "I don't know what she's going to do, but I don't want you guys to get caught in the crossfire. This is my fight…"

Ember looked to the others, then back to Pyrus. "… You guys go…" she said, stepping up next to Pyrus, feeling herself getting hot under the scales. "I'll help Pyrus."

"Ember…" said Demi, before Delilah put her paw on her shoulder carefully and shoot her head.

"I've seen this more than once too," said Delilah, her voice more profound this time. "It has to happen like this, trust me…" she explained, seriously.

"Wow… Delilah is serious…" said Sparx, blinking lightly. "We should listen to her. And trust her, the other universes thing is actually true… I saw one… Full of horses!"

Demi blinked and nodded slowly. "Alright… Good luck, Pyrus, Ember…" she said, turning hesitantly with Delilah to head off, Sparx flying with them.

"Ember… Are you sure?" asked Pyrus, surprise in his voice. He knew his sister was strong and now mentally unstable… But something just felt… Right about having Ember standing by his side. He got hot under the scales for some reason…

Ember nodded, no confusion in her face. "I'm sure… I don't know why but… I really, really want to help you…" she said, looking up with a bit of the uncharacteristic shyness she'd shown in the past few days.

Before Pyrus could reply, Cyros let off another deranged laugh. "Oh this is hilarious! Little Pyrus has a girlfriend!" she exclaimed, laughing hysterically at this. She then suddenly snapped back to a serious face. "I think I'll kill you both! This'll be so fun!" she cackled. Before the two could react, she sent a serge of fire right at them, forcing them to dodge. She followed quickly by letting loose an onslaught of ice shards, once more forcing the two fire dragons to run to avoid being hit. She quickly continued with a burst of wind, blowing them both back against the wall.

Cyros flew forwards, pinning Pyrus' arms to the wall with her legs and letting out a laugh before attempting to hit him with her ax tail, only to be blasted off of him by Ember's fire breath. The corrupted ice dragoness let out a fierce snarl and sent a stream of ice breath at Ember, who managed to narrowly evade as the ice froze the wall.

Pyrus flew in, tackling Cyros and pinning her to the ground. "Listen! I know this isn't you! You're my sister! You're a jerk to me but you'd _never_ try to kill me! That's Venti's evil talking, snap out of it!" he yelled, pleading with his sister to realize what she was doing.

"You don't know me as well as you think you do, brother dearest!" cackled the deranged princess before she blasted him off with fire. She flew up and dove at him with her ax, only for a Comet Dash from Ember to hit her in the side and launch her across the room. Cyros snarled and flapped her wings, launching a barrage of air cutters at Ember, managing to inflict a narrow gash on her right front leg. "Stay out of this!" she bellowed, sending a cascade of fire Ember's way.

Pyrus powered up his tattoo and countered Cyros' fire with his ice. "It's no use, she's not in her right mind…" he said, sorrow clear on his face at this fact.

Ember looked at him sympathetically. "Maybe if we knock her out Delilah or someone can find a way to fix her," she suggested, before the two dodged an incoming Fire Bomb.

Pyrus looked to Ember and nodded slowly. He then leapt out of the way of his sister's fire breath and countered with a fire breath of his own, forcing her to dodge. Cyros gave a deranged chuckle and blasted the stalactites on the ceiling with her fire breath, causing them to fall at the two.

Ember and Pyrus managed to evade and both counterattacked with their fire breath. Cyros replied with a barrage of ice shards, then dodging. As the two fire dragons jumped out of the way of the shards, Cyros flew in and tackled Ember, slamming her into the wall and trying to hit her in the head with her ax, only for her to counter with her Heat Breath and blast her off. Cyros snarled before having to leap back to avoid a blast of Pyrus' fire. The ice dragoness saw Ember aiming her fire breath at her and formed a wind sphere in her mouth, catching it and sending it right back, blasting the young Fire Guardian against the wall.

Cyros let out a deranged laugh. "Watching that black dragoness friend of yours had some advantages, like learning to do this!" she stated before firing several Wind Spheres at Pyrus, forcing him to fly up and out of the way to evade. He then flew in close and tackled her, pinning her down, only for her to bring both legs up and kick him in the groin. Pyrus moaned and fell to the ground in pain. Cyros laughed at her hurting brother, raising her tail blade up. "Don't worry, it won't hurt long!" she cackled, preparing to bring her ax down on his neck when Ember flew in and used a Comet Dash on her, knocking her away.

Ember quickly looked to Pyrus. "Are you ok?" she asked, worriedly.

Pyrus groaned but nodded, supporting himself with one front paw while still covering his groin with the other. "Y-yeah, I'm fine…I wish my sister didn't play so dirty though, ow…" he groaned, trying to ignore the pain.

"Dirty?" asked Cyros, getting their attention, revealing she had retrieved her guitar. "You haven't seen anything yet, brother dear!" she exclaimed, playing the guitar and sending a visible sound wave to blast them both backwards with it. "I haven't even began to play dirty yet!"

Ember groaned, getting to her feet. "Not the guitar again…" she muttered, before her and Pyrus flew upwards to dodge another sound wave.

Cyros laughed psychotically and tapped the jewel again, turning it yellow and playing again, this time a rather face paced, chaotic tune.

"_Welcome to your final show!_

_Now we'll get to prove who is best!_

_Will it be me or my foes?_

_It's time to put this rivalry to rest!"_ sung Cyros, lightning erupting from the jewel of the guitar and following the two dragons as they struggled to dodge.

"_What's wrong, my brother dear?_

_Isn't this what you wanted all along?_

_To prove you've got nothing to fear?_

_Now is your chance to prove me wrong!"_ she continued, the two dragons barely avoiding the lightning as she tapped the jewel again, turning it bright purple.

"_Welcome to your final show!_

_We'll bring the house down!_

_Better start flying low_

_Or nothing of you will be found!"_" she sung, the stalactites on the ceiling glowing purple and beginning to fall at the two dragons, forcing them once more on the defensive.

"Why is she singing?" asked Ember, before blowing up a stalactite with a Fire Bomb.

Pyrus barrel rolled out of the way of a falling stalactite. "Cyros loves to sing, it's just who she is!" he yelled back. "I guess even when she's insane!"

"_What's wrong, pinkie pie?_

_Don't like my singing voice?_

_Or are you just afraid to DIE?_

_Sorry, you don't have any choice!"_ sung Cyros, laughing psychotically as she sent more stalactites falling at the duo, who blew them away with fire breath. She tapped the gem again, this time turning it bright green.

"_Welcome to your final show!_

_I hope you're having fun!_

_Don't get too comfy though_

_Now you'd better run!"_ she sung, causing green spires of rock to erupt out of the walls and come close to hitting them. One of the spires managed to collide with Pyrus, knocking him to the ground, which distracted Ember long enough for the same to happen to her. Cyros then tapped the gem again, turning it back to purple.

"_I know this has been a blast!_

_But we can't do this for all that long!_

_This fun just can't last!_

_Can't have mommy knowing something's wrong!_

_Welcome to your final show!_

_This is the last act!_

_It has to end and so_

_Please die with this attack!"_ she sung, a large chunk of the roof glowing purple and plummeting towards the two prone dragons. Pyrus saw it coming though and blasted it with a surge of ice, allowing him and Ember to fly through it with a double Comet Dash. Cyros snarled in response, tapping the jewel and making it glow yellow.

"_Now you two just don't know when to quit!_

_This time certainly isn't a lie!_

_You can stop now, I really mean it!_

_Just hurry up and die!"_ she sung angrily, sending a lightning bolt at both of them, managing to know Ember out of the air and shock her, only to be forced to fly up from a burst of Pyrus' fire breath. This caused Cyros to hit the crystal again, turning it back to red.

"_Welcome to your final show!_

_This time it's most certainly true!_

_My patience is now running low!_

_Hold still so I can kill you!"_ she sung, her voice getting more furious by the second as she picked up a large number of rocks with the magic of her guitar and hurled them at Ember and Pyrus, only to be dodged.

"_You can run but you can't hide!_

_This spell won't let you get away!_

_Time is the only thing you bide!_

_So do yourself a favor and die this way!"_ she sung, the flying rocks following the two flying dragons.

"_Welcome to your final show!_

_It's time for this to end!_

_No matter if you fly high or low_

_There's nowhere safe to hide in!_

_Welcome to your final show!_

_This much I can assure!_

_You those rocks will follow!_

_Until you are no more!"_ she sung, cackling as she watched the rocks chase the two dragons…then gasping as they flew right at her. "Stop! Stop!" she yelled, realizing too late as they flew over her and she was hit by her own attack, knocking her a good distance one way and her guitar the other.

Pyrus spun around, panic now on his face as he remembered who they were fighting. "C-Cyros?" he asked, worriedly.

The ice dragoness snarled viciously, getting herself to her feet, favoring her right front leg. "… This isn't over…" she snarled, glaring evilly at her brother.

"Cyros, that's enough!" yelled Ember, seeing Cyros had been injured.

"She's right, Cyros," said Pyrus, pleadingly. "Its over… Cyros, please listen to me. I just want to-"

"Brag about how you beat me?" yelled Cyros, before letting out another psychotic laugh. "No, no, NO! I NEVER lose, you haven't won yet! You'll never win!" she retorted in a frankly insane tone.

"Cyros… Please… Something is wrong with you, you need help," pleaded Pyrus, desperately. "Please…"

"Please, listen to him. Venti's power is messing with your head," implored Ember, trying to get through to her.

Cyros let out another cackle. "I know what you're doing! You want _my_ power for yourself, just like you took the crown for yourself!" she suddenly yelled. "But no, no, that's not going to happen, not this time!" she replied, taking out the crystal containing Tyrania's energy. "Not once I absorb this!" she yelled, slamming the crystal into a spike on her choker, energy surging out of it and into her body.

Cyros laughed, wrapping her wings around herself as her skin became a much darker blue, her membranes a deep purple. She threw her wings out as they suddenly grew to the size of an adult dragon's, the claws bursting out into sharp blades. Her body crackled with energy as it began to grow rapidly, darkness engulfing her until she batted her wings to blow it away, revealing a now fully grown version of herself, with a spikier hide and serrated ax blade tail, though she was actually a good bit larger than a normal adult dragoness. She now had a black shadow-fire tattoo and red version of Gaia's earth tattoo running down her back, each going down a leg not yet claimed by her existing tattoos. Her irises turned completely red and a tattoo of blood red eyes appeared under her true ones.

Kage watched from behind a nearby pillar and gasped. "No… I-I have to do something… I can't let you do this to yourself, Cyros… There's one thing I can try… I just hope it isn't too late…" he said, worry in his voice and face. He slowly slunk away out of the chamber.

"Those eyes…" said Ember, backing up in fear. "It-it can't be! Empress Tyrania?"

"That's right!" yelled Cyros, her voice now heavily distorted, sounding as if she, Tyrania, and Venti were talking all at once. "After you little heroes took down Tyrania, I took her power…now I've absorbed it! It feels wonderful! Wonderful!" she yelled before giving another, even more insane laugh. "No one can stop me! Not you, not mom, not anyone!" she roared before letting loose a massive stream of shadow fire, forcing the smaller fire dragons to scatter as she blew a crater in the floor. Cyros cackled before letting loose with a red Earth Shot, Pyrus and Ember barely weaving out of the way in time, only for Fire Bomb from the now insane dragoness to blast them both out of the air and slam them into the ground. Before they could recover, she let loose another Earth Shot, buffeting them and launching them across the room.

"Such power! It's mine! All mine! And no one can ever take it away!" yelled Cyros, giving another crazed laugh.

Ember groaned as she got back to her feet, now sporting a few cuts and bruises. "Ow… That really hurt… You alright, Pyrus?" she asked, worriedly.

Pyrus nodded, getting back to his own paws in much the same shape. "But… What about Cyros?" he asked, looking at his mutated sister worriedly.

"I-I don't know… Empress Tyrania was really nasty, that's for sure… Now all that nastiness is in Cyros," replied Ember worriedly. "It's like with Spyro and Cynder… I guess she's Dark Cyros now…"

Pyrus sighed. "Well we can't just be sitting ducks, we need to fight back…"

"Fight back?" asked Dark Cyros before laughing. "That's a waste of time, brother!" she cackled, letting loose several Earth Missiles, the two Fire Dragons taking flight to evade but being kept on the defensive as Dark Cyros sent streams of Shadow Fire after them. Pyrus flew in and blasted her in the chest with fire, only to be batted aside with one of her wings. Ember landed on Cyros' back and superheated her body, burning the massive dragoness. "Get off! Get off me!" she roared in anger and pain before taking flight. Ember had to release her grip to avoid being ground against the roof by the mad dragoness.

Ember flew around and blasted with Dark Cyros her Heat Breath, forcing her back slightly before being sent flying herself with a powerful wind gust from the corrupted dragoness. Pyrus latched onto Dark Cyros by the back of the neck. "Sister! Break out of this! This isn't you! You'd never hurt me or mom! I know you're in there somewhere!"

Dark Cyros laughed as if this were a joke. "Not anymore!" she replied in her insane tone before spinning around, generating a tornado and throwing her smaller brother off of her and into the rising Ember. The two fire dragons got to their feet, only to be forced back into flight by a barrage of ice shards which embedded themselves deeply in the floor. Dodging streams of fire and Shadow Fire, the two spun around and hit Cyros with a dual stream of fire, forcing her backwards. Pyrus followed up with a barrage of ice shards, hitting her in the chest but doing next to nothing.

Dark Cyros took advantage and flew forwards, grabbing both of the smaller dragons with her huge paws and slamming them against the wall. "Time to die!" she cackled in a sing song tone before preparing a point blank Earth Shot, only for Ember to super heat herself, burning Dark Cyros' paw and causing her to let out a cry of pain, recoiling and allowing a double Comet Dash from both Fire Dragons to drive her backwards and escape her clutches. Dark Cyros roared in fury and let loose a barrage of Earth Missiles which were barely evaded. The two dove and weaved their way past as she swung her ax tail around, imbedding it in the wall. She ripped it out and roared as she let loose streams of fire, blasting both smaller dragons back before swiping them with one of her massive paws and throwing them across the room into a wall. As Ember rose, she saw Cyros charge a Wind Sphere and shot it right at Pyrus as he tried to get to his feet.

"Pyrus!" yelled Ember, rushing and pushing him out of the way, taking the hit herself and being hurled violently against the wall. She felt her head hard smack off of it and fell limply to the ground.

"Ember!" yelled Pyrus in shock, blinking in surprise that the pink dragoness had done such a thing for him.

Cyros then laughed, her eyes glowing red as she began to charge fire around her in preparation for a Fire Fury. "Any last words, little brother?" she asked, cackling psychotically.

Pyrus groaned, getting up slowly, looking at the unconscious Ember and then up at his sister as she began to charge. He put himself between Ember and Dark Cyros, preparing to take the brunt of the attack himself in her defense if it came to that… Then looked down sadly. "I'm sorry…" he said suddenly.

Dark Cyros blinked. "W-what?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry you think I stole the crown from you!" yelled Pyrus, tears starting down his face. "But there's a law! Naga law says the first born is the crown prince or princess and I hatched first! But I never wanted to be crown prince! Mom had no choice, Cyros!" he shouted, trying to get the point through his sister's head. "You never gave me the chance to explain, whenever I tried, you'd yell at me and make fun of me… But I never wanted this… I never wanted the crown! I wanted to give it to you if I could!"

Dark Cyros seemed completely stunned, her attack fizzling out. Briefly, her eyes flickered back to normal. "Pyrus… Do you mean… No… No! Of course you don't! This is all a lie!" she yelled, her voice changing back to normal briefly before reverting back to their monstrous state along with her eyes as her anger returned. "You're just trying to save yourself and your little girlfriend! Well it won't work!"

Pyrus sighed. "I'm telling the truth, Cyros!" he yelled, tears streaming down his face. "All I want is for us to be like we used to be! Brother and sister! Together! And I want mom to be back to how she used to be too! I just want our family to be together again!… Don't you want that?"

Dark Cyros had a conflicted on her face, uncertain of what to make of the situation. She suddenly snarled. "Lies! All lies! When I believed you when we were kids, you went behind my back to mom and took the crown! I saw you accept it!" she roared in complete rage. "Well I'm not going to let you talk me out of it again! I'm going to kill you! You and that little girlfriend of yours too!" she roared, charging up the Fire Fury again.

Pyrus huddled around Ember, wrapping his wings around the two of them for protection as best he could… When suddenly, a purple crystal floated up over Dark Cyros. "Crystal shining with mystic light, take in this warrior's might," a male voice chanted, as the crystal began to glow and project a golden energy field. "There is power that lies within, allow that power to be tak-" he chanted before Dark Cyros canceled her Fire Fury and let loose a Fire Bomb, striking the caster and throwing him one way, the spell book she'd been using previously another, which slid to a stop at Pyrus' feet.

"Ha! Did you really think anyone could get the drop on-" started Dark Cyros, stopping in her tracks when she saw the limp, burnt form of Kage laying on the ground nearby. "K-Kage?" she asked, her eyes filling with shock, instantly reverting to their normal appearance. "Why did you…" she asked, confusion clear in her voice before she remembered his warnings, about what the energy would do to her. She rushed over to her fallen friend, nudging him. "Wake up…" she begged, tears welling up in her eyes. "Come on… Wake up! Don't… Don't you dare die on me!" she pleaded, her voice returning to normal and cracking as she spoke. "You're the only friend I've ever had! You can't die on me!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face as she looked at the badly hurt, possibly dying form of her friend who'd she'd just attacked.

Ember groaned, slowly waking up. "P-Pyrus?" she asked, then cringed, holding her head in pain.

"Ember?" asked Pyrus, surprised, then nuzzling her joyfully. "Thank the Ancestors you're alright…"

Ember blinked, getting hot under her scales. "T-thank you…" she replied, finding herself returning his nuzzle.

Pyrus suddenly got hot under his scales as he realized what had just happened. "Oops… Sorry…"

Ember shook her head slowly. "No…I actually kind of…liked it…" she replied, shyly.

Pyrus blinked, then looked on as his sister pleaded and begged to get some life out of Kage. He then looked at the spell book that had come to a stop at his feet, seeing the spell that it was open to. It was the transfer spell that Cyros had used, but someone had written new words beside the bottom parts with a deciding different purpose. He gave a gasp, realizing now was his chance to get Cyros free of the corruption now plaguing her and quickly grabbing the book and Cyros' guitar. He then blinked lightly. "I think I can play it, I've watched Cyros do it a lot, but I can't sing too good…and that's how Cyros casts spells…"

"Don't worry, I can sing," reassured Ember, looking at the book and reading what the spell said, then recalling what Delilah had said about the darkness corrupting Cyros. "Let's do it together… We'll get your sister back…"

Pyrus nodded slowly and began to play, throwing the jewel over Dark Cyros' head.

"_Crystal shining with mystic light_

_Take in this warrior's might_

_There is power that lies within_

_Allow that power to be taken,"_ sung Ember, her voice rather soothing and relaxing. The crystal shown with a golden aura, surrounding Dark Cyros and beginning to draw the power she'd stolen out of her as it pulled her into the air.

"_Crystal of power do my will_

_Let within you this power fill_

_And take the evil away from her heart_

_And let it never again have a start,_" finished Ember, Dark Cyros shrinking as the shadows were pulled away, the extra tattoos vanishing into thin air. Once all the additional power had been taken and only her normal tattoo remained, Pyrus stopped, causing Cyros to fall to the ground her normal self, the crystal nearby.

Cyros gasped, eyes opening suddenly. "I-I'm me again…" she stuttered, her mind clear before she looked down at Kage. "K-Kage…" she muttered before he rested her head on his chest, feeling a still shallow breath there. "Kage… Don't die… Please don't die… You tried to warn me… You told me that power would do that to me… And I didn't listen," she pleaded, sobbing as she looked at the wounded Naga's. "You just wanted to help me! I never meant for this to happen… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… But please don't leave me!" she sobbed, sounding more like a frightened child than the egotistical dragoness she'd been acting like. "…You're the only friend I've ever had… I need you… Please… Please don't leave me…"

Kage's eyes slowly opened. "Princess… You're back to yourself…" he said weakly, causing Cyros to look up at him in surprise. "…I'm sorry… But… That energy… It was making you something you're not… I had to do something… So I altered that spell a little bit to target the evil that power had done to you as well as the power itself… I'm sorry I let this happen to you…"

Cyros began to cry tears of joy and hugged him. "It's ok… It's all my fault… I should've listened to you… By the Ancestors I should've listened," she cried, the sorcerer Naga hugging her back.

"Cyros…" said Pyrus, walking over, his sister looking around at him. "Are you ok?" he asked, concern heavy on his face.

"…Yeah…" replied Cyros, confusion filling her face as she wiped her tears away as quickly as she could. She then noticed neither her ice power or fire tattoo had been taken. "You… You stopped? You could've taken it all… All of my power but… You didn't… Why?"

Pyrus looked his sister in the eyes. "I don't want it… I wasn't lying… I just want our family to be together again…" he explained, a definite seriousness in his voice. "Like I said… I told mom I didn't want to be prince, but she explained the rules… I had to agree, but you must've walked in at just the wrong time…" he continued, sorrow in his eyes. "…I wanted to explain what happened and come up with… Something, but you never listened to me…"

Kage put a hand on Cyros' shoulder. "He speaks the truth, Cyros," he said, sitting up weakly. "Naga law is quite clear on the subject. The older sibling is obligated to be the heir, and its one of the laws even the queen or king cannot change," he explained, giving a sigh. "We don't even know how that law started, but its sadly the truth…"

Cyros looked like she'd just been punched in the gut, confusion and hurt clear on her face. She soon started crying, nearly sobbing. Pyrus had just spared her life and let her keep her powers when he could've taken them for himself… No matter how hard she tried to tell herself it was a lie... After that she just couldn't... "All this time, I've been bullying you and treating you like dirt… It was all because I misheard something and refused to hear the truth," she cried, suddenly unable to look her brother in the eye. "I was a fool! A grade-A fool! And because of that… I nearly lost you, Kage, and… And who I am…" she muttered, her voice full of self-loathing. "I nearly lost everything because I was so stupid!"

Pyrus put a paw on her shoulder. "It's alright… We all make mistakes… All that matters is you realize it and make sure it doesn't happen again…" he explained in a calm voice. "… I forgive you…," he continued, giving a small smile.

Cyros looked up at him with a shocked look. "You… Forgive me? You… You mean that? After everything I did… You forgive me? I tried to _kill_ you Pyrus…"

Pyrus shook his head. "No, that was just Venti and Tyrania's power, it messed with your head and turned you into something you're not… Yes, I forgive you… I could never hate my sister…"

Cyros looked at him puzzled for a moment, processing what happened…then the tears started again as she hugged her brother. "Pyrus… Thank you…" she cried, Pyrus hugging her back.

"Cyros…" said Ember, lightly, after a few moments of watching the two reunited siblings hugging. As Cyros looked up at her, she gave a small smile. "… I forgive you too… And thank you…"

Cyros blinked in surprise. "T-thank me? F-for what? I got you _kidnapped!_" she asked in disbelief.

Ember nodded. "And if you hadn't, I'd not have been reunited with my dad and been able to free the slaves before the others arrived. And I'd never have gotten my phoenix powers, which have been a big help," she explained. "Even if you had mean intentions at the time, it all worked out better than it would've… And you're sorry, when someone is sorry for their actions, that proves they're not a really bad person. So I forgive you."

Cyros looked surprised. She then smiled lightly. "Y-you're welcome… Thanks for forgiving me… That means a lot…" she replied, getting a small smile from Ember in return.

"Excuse me," called a cool, relaxed voice. A female Commander sized Naga approached. Her body was primarily yellow with black patterns covering it, her head resembling that of a King Ratsnake. A tattoo identical to Pyrus' ran down the length of her back to her tail and arms. Her outfit was a light blue cloak with grey bracelets on her arms and neck, a pair of folded fans hanging from her belt. "Prince Pyrus, I see you are here," she said, ignoring the generally destroyed condition of the room and the pink dragoness standing next to him.

"Commander Khione," replied Pyrus, giving a small smile. He then looked to Ember, who was in a defensive posture. "It's ok, Ember, this is the Commander who _wasn't_ selected by General Grendel. She's actually really nice."

Khione gave an honorable bow, then looked to Cyros. "Hello, Princess Cyros, it's good to see you," she said, then looked to Pyrus. "This group came down to dungeons," she explained, pointing to Sparx, Demi, and Delilah as they walked up. "The fox told me you wanted these prisoners released," she stated, pulling lightly on a chain, causing Hunter, chains around his wrists and holding the sphere with Nina and Flash inside it. "Can you confirm this?"

Pyrus nodded quickly. "Yeah, I want them free," he replied, doing his best to look official.

Khione nodded, unhooking Hunter's chains and pressing a magic key to the orb surrounding Nina and Flash, releasing them. "You're free to go," she said, turning to Pyrus and Cyros. "Prince and Princess, please give my regards to Queen Deadlock, I must return to my duty as dungeon keeper," she explained, giving another honorable bow and returning down the tunnel.

Sparx hugged his parents. "Sparx, it's great to see you," said Nina, hugging him back.

"It's good to see you guys again too, me and Spyro were worried sick!" said Sparx, looking up at them. "That snake didn't hurt you, did she?"

Flash shook his head. "No, not at all… In fact she gave us tea and kept as pretty comfortable."

Hunter nodded. "Deadlock spoke the truth, Khione was truly accommodating."

Sparx blinked. "Oh… Well we rescued you, that's what counts…" he said, then saw Cyros and gave a yell. "Ahh! The crazy dragoness!" he yelled, hiding behind Hunter as Cyros got a hurt look on her face.

"No, not anymore," said Ember, quick to Cyros' defense. "We sucked the evil out of her."

Demi blinked. "Ember… She kidnapped you…" she stated in a tone of complete disbelief

Ember nodded. "Yeah… But it was all a misunderstanding… Oh, and she got corrupted by evil," she said, then looked at the crystal. "That reminds me," she said, letting loose a burst of Heat Breath, shattering it to bits. The darkness inside contorted and took the form of Venti, then Tyrania, before disappearing entirely into nothingness. "Not it won't hurt anyone ever again."

Cyros walked up, looking nervous. She gave an uncomfortable sigh. "…I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything I did… I messed up and it almost cost me everything I care about… I won't hold it against you if you don't believe me… But I hope you will…" she said, her voice genuinely remorseful.

Sparx and Demi looked a bit skeptical, but Delilah stepped forwards happily. "I forgive you, no worries."

Cyros was startled, not expecting that. "You… You forgive me that easily?" she asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Sure," said Delilah, giving a big smile. "I've seen _much_ worse people be redeemed, trust me," she stated, giving a chuckle. "As a friend of mine once said, you're not a bad dragon; you just made a bad decision."

Cyros smiled lightly. "T-thanks…" she replied in a grateful tone.

Demi walked up, looking Cyros seriously in the eye. "Well I don't. You hurt my friends, you broke Ember's heart, you even got her kidnapped for no other reason but it served you. You've betrayed and used us once pretending to be our friend... But if Ember will forgive you for what you did to her… I will at least give you the benefit of the doubt and let you try to make up for all that," she stated, her voice serious as could be. "I'm not going to forgive you easily. After all you did, you're going to have to earn it. And I'm keeping my eye on every move you make; you won't get a second chance if you screw this one up, got that?"

Cyros nodded in a remorseful manner. "I can understand that… I don't blame you... I will do my best to make up for everything I've done."

Demi gave a nod. "You're welcome…" she said, keeping her eyes on Cyros. "You'd better," she stated, dead seriously.

Sparx flew up to Cyros, looking her in the eye. "Look, I _don't_ trust you and I'm probably going to rake you over the coals a _lot._ But I guess if everyone else is going to give you a chance to make amends and all that, I will too. But I'm with Demi on this one, I'm _not_ just going to forgive you and trust you not to stab us in the back again. Not after all the rotten stuff you pulled last time. Got it, ice princess?"

Cyros looked back to him, giving a small nod, though a bit offended by the ice queen part. "Thanks… I can't blame you, I did some pretty bad things I'll just have to make up for it, I guess… Anything you could say to me... I'd probably deserve it..."

"Yeah, you better," said Sparx in a serious tone. Normally, he'd be a _lot_ harder on her, but his parents were present and would be hard on _him_ if he was hard on her.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt," said Ember, apologetically. "But Spyro and Cynder are about to fight Deadlock, or might actually be fighting her right now, we kind of need to go."

The group nodded slowly and then quickly followed Ember along. Sparx looked to Delilah. "So... A friend of yours really said that?"

Delilah nodded as they walked. "Yeah… Though it was to their universe's version of a dragon, which are a lot different than they are here."

"How so?" asked Sparx, not sure if he wanted to know.

"They're _really_ big and a lot more dangerous," replied Delilah, as if talking about normal subject.

"Oh…" said Sparx, blinking. "And… How did that happen?"

"She yelled at it for hurting her friends and made it cry… Then calmed it down and said what I did," explained Delilah. "Yeah, she's like that."

Sparx sighed, but then Flash put his hand on his shoulder. "Good job, son, we're really proud of you," said Flash, he and Nina smiling lightly. "We can't blame you for not forgiving Cyros, but it takes a lot to give someone the chance to earn your forgiveness after they've hurt you."

Sparx smiled a little embarrassed. "Yeah… I guess it was pretty impressive, wasn't it?"

Nina nodded, putting her hand on her son's shoulder. "Not as impressive as what Demi told us. About how you snuck your way into the Gargoyle Mines and helped Ember rescue all those slaves," she stated, pride clear in her face and tone.

"That was very brave of you, son," said Flash, sharing his wife's pride for their son. "We're really proud of you, you'll certainly deserve that statue now."

Sparx chuckled nervously, blushing and rubbing his head as they flew along with the group. "Well… I was just doing my job…" he said, smiling nervously.

Pyrus looked to Cyros, putting a paw on her shoulder as the rest of the group continued on ahead a bit. "Good to have you back sis…" he said, smiling.

Cyros smiled back. "Good to be back…"

After Pyrus looked back to the path to talk to Ember and they continued, Cyros' face turned to one of guilt… That is until Kage put a hand on her back as they walked. "Cyros… I know there's a long way to go until you'll be able to forgive yourself," he stated, keeping his eyes ahead as they walked. "But I know you'll be able to make up for everything you've done, you're not the kind who would take forgiveness or the chance to earn it lightly," he explained, looking down at her with a smile.

Cyros smiled lightly back. "Thanks, Kage… I'll do my best…" she replied, then continued on. _I was such a fool… At least thanks to you, Pyrus, I have the chance to make up for it…_ she thought, smiling as she watched her brother walk along side Ember to confront their mother.

* * *

Yeah, big suprised, Commander Khione _isn't_ evil, but then again, as Pyrus said, she's the only one Deadlock picked herself instead of Grendel. Says a good bit about old four arms doesn't it? And the "Cupcake Incident" thing with Delilah is probably a lot less funny to some people who might have an idea about it. I'll leave that up to your imagination.

The darkness may or may not have been Tyrania and Venti's spirits, but it's gone for good. I'll let you decide on that.

So Cyros has seen the error of her ways and repented, will Deadlock be so fortunate? Or will she be the victim of her own vengeance? Next time is the climatic showdown with Deadlock! Will our heroes succeed? And just what is Grendel up to?


	27. What Really Matters

At last, the final showdown with Deadlock is upon us! Cyros has been redeemed, but does her mother still have the chance for redemption? And even if she does, will she survive long enough to do something about it? And what of General Grendel's evil plans? It's time we find out!

Due to how much Delilah has refrenced, I'm just pointing out, I own absolutely nothing here outside my OCs. Anyway, enjoy the climatic showdown!

* * *

**What Really Matters**

Spyro and Cynder stood before the massive door that Pyrus had mentioned, composing themselves. "…Spyro… I… I'm scared…" said Cynder, her face and voice both showing her nervousness and unease. "What if…"

"I know," replied Spyro, dropping his mask of confidence for her sake and showing how scared he really was. "I'm afraid of that too, but the sun just rose a little bit ago, there's still plenty of time," he explained, giving her a nuzzle. "Let's do this together; just like how we defeated Malefor."

Cynder nuzzled her mate back and gave a small nod. "Alright…but what about Deadlock?" she asked, concern in her voice as she looked to the door. "I don't want to end up killing her… For Pyrus' sake at the very least, and she's a victim of Malefor just like us…"

Spyro gave a sigh and nodded. "Let's try to talk some sense into her first…if that doesn't work, then we'll have to fight. But maybe Pyrus can talk some sense into her after we've stopped the ritual…" he stated, trying to sound as hopeful as he possibly could.

Cynder nodded, regaining her composure. She didn't want Deadlock to realize that she was scared. "Alright… Let's go…"

The two pushed the door open slowly, walking into the chamber as Deadlock had a Naga drive the last of four large Dark Gems into the ground around the lava pit. "That's good…" said the ice head, before she heard the door open behind her, a serious look crossing her faces. "You are dismissed…" she stated, her back still to the duo.

"But my queen," said one of the Naga, drawing a sword and preparing to defend his queen. "The dragons ar-"

"We know," said the ice head, calmly, smiling kindly at the Naga who was so prepared to protect her. "I know they're here, please go. We will handle it. We don't want any Naga to be further involved in our personal battles…"

The Naga reluctantly put his sword away and bowed to Deadlock. "Yes, my queen…" he said, respectfully before leaving the room.

Deadlock slowly turned around, all three heads trained on the dragons. "Welcome, we're glad you could make it," stated the electric head.

"We hope the Naga didn't attempt to stop you, we told them to avoid confronting you," said the ice head, sincerity in her voice as she looked at the group.

Spyro and Cynder blinked and looked at one another in confusion. "You told them _not_ to stop us?" asked Cynder. Her eyes wandered to the black egg a top it's nearby pedestal. She forced her motherly instincts to remain suppressed at the moment and concentrated on Deadlock.

"Did they try or not?" snapped the fire head with a fury filled voice.

"No, no they didn't," replied Spyro, quickly. He also had to keep his eyes from wandering to the egg, his instincts fighting him. It was hard for them both to see their child so close and not rush to it's defense. But for now, they had to stop Deadlock. "We haven't been attacked at all."

Deadlock gave a relieved sigh. "Good. The reason we ordered that is simple," said the ice head in a calm, even tone.

"This is our battle, not the Nagas'. We had them attack the Dragon Temple, but that was for their revenge as much as our own," explained the electric head.

"We will settle our final grudge personally," continued the fire head, giving a snarl, glaring at the duo with hatred in her eyes.

"And its more than that… 24 years ago, we never got to fight for our children, they were destroyed while we could do nothing in their defense," said the ice head, sorrow briefly entering her face.

"So despite how much we want to kill you…" continued the fire head, ferocity in her tone.

"We just couldn't bring ourselves to do that to someone else," finished the electric head, showing a rare serious tone.

The ice head nodded in agreement, the three heads showing a brief joint moment of sorrow. "So we will allow you to fight for your children; no Naga involved. They've been ordered that should the ritual be thwarted, the eggs are to be returned to the Dragon Temple."

Spyro gave a small sigh of relief mentally, but kept looking at Deadlock seriously, Cynder doing the same. "We appreciate that… But why do you want revenge on us so much?" he asked in response. "We know you have children-"

"What? H-how do you know that?" asked the ice head, showing a bit of motherly concern at the mention of her children.

"The Chronicler told us," answered Cynder The last thing she wanted to do at this juncture was say Pyrus had come to them. Deadlock would most certainly perceive that as a lie in her present mental state. "He said you have two, Pyrus and Cyros… Deadlock, if you know my mother, you probably know that my father is gone as well. I saw him die due to Malefor's actions… I don't want to put your children through seeing their mother die! Think of them!"

Deadlock looked seriously conflicted. The three heads looked at each other with concerned looks, silently communicating. They finally nodded and gave a sigh. "…We are concerned for our children… But we've gone too far to turn back now," said the ice head, showing a bit of remorse.

"Everything is ready for the ritual to begin and you're here for our vengeance to be taken," continued the electric head, showing the same remorse as her sister.

"If we perish, we have advised the Naga to inform our children it was by our own fault," said the fire head, in sorrow instead of anger.

"We've carried a 24 year long grudge, and while we feel it's justified, we don't want to inflict that on our children after what it's done to us," stated the ice head, showing a twinge of remorse. "For better or worse, our vengeance reaches its end here and now," explained the ice head, the three heads regaining their fierceness.

Cynder gave a sigh. "So you won't reconsider?" she asked, ignoring what the Naga Queen's last line of dialog. "There's no way you'll let this end peacefully?"

The three heads shook together. "No, there isn't," stated the ice head, with a note of finality to her tone as the trio of heads glared at them with anger rising in their eyes.

"…I see," asked Spyro, confusion suddenly on his face. "There's one thing I can't figure out, though. Why Cynder? She wasn't Malefor's original target. Even if I don't agree with it, I understand why you want revenge on me… But why her?"

Deadlock gave an irritated sigh. "So the Guardians and the Chronicler didn't tell you?" asked the ice head, disappointment in her voice. "Cynder, we had five children before the temple raid," she explained, her anger suddenly rising to new heights as she glared furiously at the dragoness, a snarl of complete hatred appearing on all three heads

"And _you_ killed them all!" snapped the fire head, smoke pouring from her nose. "All of them!"

Cynder gasped, a look of horror crossing her face. "I-I killed your children?"

"Yes!" yelled the electric head, anger and rage filling her face and tone. "You did! Each and every one in cold blood and no remorse!"

Sorrow and guilt filled Cynder's face as she heard this statement. "I-I'm sorry. I'm not proud of what I did, I'm really not… But I'm not that dragoness, not any-"

"Shut up!" roared the ice head, now sharing the outright fury of her siblings. "You killed out grown children! And Spyro's egg drew the Apes to the temple! Between the two of you, you've destroyed _everything_ we had!"

"And now this is where it ends!" roared all three heads before grabbing a crystal off the nearby table and driving it into the ground in front of the eggs, it's energy mixing with the dark gems, forming a purple energy field to protect the eggs from the coming fight. "Once and for all!"

Before either of the dragons could say another word, the outer two heads let loose streams of fire and lightning at them, forcing them to the air. The ice head let loose a barrage of ice shards at the two airborne dragons, only for them to nimbly barrel roll out of harms way.

"It looks like we have no choice, we have to fight," said Spyro, regret over that fact heavy in his voice as he got a sorrowful nod from Cynder. The two dove under a stream of electricity from Deadlock, flying towards her and blasting with fire and poison. To their surprise, the massive dragoness quickly took to the air to evade before the fire head blasted them with a Fire Bomb, knocking them to the ground. As the two rose, they quickly had to leap out of the way as Deadlock attempted to slam down right on top of them, her front legs cracking the rock where they'd been seconds before.

The two dragons circled Deadlock and tried to attack from different sides, but the three-headed dragoness repelled them with bursts of electric breath from one head and fire breath from another. Deadlock quickly spread her wings, taking flight around the large chamber and firing bursts of Fire, Polar, and Electric Bombs, forcing them to flee from her and dodge nimbly to avoid being buffeted by the attack.

Deadlock's ice head suddenly stopped firing while the outer two continued doing so. She watched carefully as Cynder and Spyro dodged the other two before suddenly firing a burst of ice shards, buffeting the two and sending them crashing to the ground, Cynder with a cut on her left side and Spyro one on his right lower leg. Before they could get up, Deadlock landed above them, all three heads biting fiercely at them, forcing them to roll and duck to evade the onslaught of fangs and teeth. Cynder let loose a burst of poison, blasting Deadlock in the chest. Deadlock let out a roar of pain and backpedaled from the burning venom. This allowed Spyro and Cynder to get back to their feet and Spyro to blast Deadlock further back with a burst of his Electric Breath. Seeing a possible opportunity to end this quickly, Cynder spat a glob of her purple venom at Deadlock, only for the three-headed dragoness to let loose a torrent of ice from her central head, freezing the venom solid and shattering it with a headbutt.

Deadlock quickly retaliated with a triple burst of electricity, ice, and fire. The two dragons narrowly evaded as the attack hit the ground where they'd just stood with great force. Spyro took to the air again while Cynder dove into her shadow, whipping around behind Deadlock and rising up for an attempted slash of her tail. Deadlock's fire head caught her out of the corner of her eye and swung her tail, smashing Cynder in the side and hurling her against the wall while the other two heads continued firing at the airborne Spyro. Cynder groaned, opening her eyes just in time to bring up shadowy spikes around her body to defend against a burst of flames from Deadlock's fire head.

Spyro dove at Deadlock to attack with an Earth Flail, managing to hit her in the shoulder and get a cry of pain before the central head froze him solid with a burst of ice. Spyro fell to the ground and the ice shattered off thankfully, but as he looked up, Deadlock reared up on her hind legs and attempted to crush him under her weight, forcing him to leap out of the way to avoid being crushed. All the while, the fire head kept up it's attack at Cynder. Thankfully, the Black Dragoness managed to dive into her shadow when the head had to stop to catch her breath, allowing Cynder to escape the barrage and regroup with Spyro.

"It's impossible to get the drop on her," said Cynder, panting heavily.

"Three heads are better than two," retorted Deadlock's electric head before the three heads let loose with another barrage of elemental bombs, which the two barely avoided.

The two dragons dove at Deadlock, managing to weave between the onslaught of elemental breaths she met them with. Spyro engulfed himself in a comet dash and slammed into Deadlock's chest, forcing her back, allowing Cynder to let loose an air cutter and draw blood on her chest, but not too deeply as to be crippling. The two flew back to a safe distance but were soon assaulted by a stream of fire and electricity, unknowingly being corralled into the center of the two and getting struck by a polar bomb from the center head, throwing them hard against the wall.

Spyro groaned, shaking off the thin layer of ice that had formed over him from the attack. "The Guardians weren't lying, she's really that strong," he muttered, now a little bit frightened to be honest. Even Malefor could only use one element at any one time while Deadlock was relentlessly using fire, ice, and electricity in tandem.

Cynder nodded, shaking herself off. "Well we can't quit now," she said, snarling. "I'm not letting my baby or the other eggs down now," she stated, trying to motivate herself as best she could.

Spyro nodded, looking to his egg and giving a snarl, letting paternal instinct motivate him.

Deadlock let off another barrage of elemental bombs, forcing the duo to take flight to avoid the resulting blast where they'd just been standing moments prior. They flew in opposite directions, Spyro followed by the fire head and Cynder by the electric, which each let loose their respective breath attacks at them. The two managed to evade and crossed over Deadlock's back, Spyro blasting her with fire and Cynder with Shadow Fire. Deadlock cried out in pain and spun around, sending a bolt of lightning from the electric head at Cynder while the fire head sent a Fire Bomb at Spyro, both of which were barely evaded. Spyro blasted Deadlock's chest with a bolt of lightning, Cynder following up with a burst of Poison, getting a roar of pain and forcing her back.

"Don't think you've won yet!" roared the ice head, waiting for them to take another strafing run at her. In response, an icy blade formed around Deadlock's tail, electricity surging into it as she flew up, swinging the duel elemental blade around and cutting both dragons in the chest, shocking them rather badly as well. Before they could recover from that, Deadlock engulfed herself in a Comet Dash, slamming into them and knocking them across the room and through a desk covered in various supplies, some crystals included.

"Revenge is so sweet," chimed in the electric head, the three-headed dragoness watching the two struggle to rise.

"Spyro, she's pretty smart," muttered Cynder, panting as she smashed some of the crystals that had mercifully been on the table, likely for Deadlock's own use.

Spyro did the same as his mate as he nodded in agreement, thankful they were fighting a dragon who had need of such things as crystals. "I know, and having three heads its almost impossible to sneak up on her," he muttered, watching Deadlock begin to approach. "Here she comes…"

Deadlock leapt at them, trying to stab them with another electrically charged ice blade, only for them to dodge into the air. Deadlock snarled, quickly shattering some of the crystals with her tail to heal a bit before taking flight, chasing the two as they flew and letting loose all three of her breaths at them in salvos, blowing apart the floor as they dodged. Spyro and Cynder suddenly stopped in midair by holding their wings straight out like a parachute to stop them suddenly. This allowed Deadlock to fly by and them to latch onto her back as she did so. Spyro blasted her with his Electricity Breath point blank and Cynder stabbed her with a poison coated tail, drawing blood.

Deadlock cried out in pain and the electric head quickly concentrated, an electrical sphere surrounding her and shocking Spyro and Cynder, blasting them off and shocking them. Deadlock panted, grabbing her wounded side from Cynder's blast. "This isn't over yet! We won't let you win!" roared all three heads. With the electrical sphere still surrounding and protecting her, Deadlock roared and let loose with barrages of elemental bombs, forcing the two to dodge.

* * *

Above Serpent's Edge, Grendel walked through a procession of Naga priests, dressed in robs of orange and their heads covered. He'd changed his armor to much more ceremonial looking gold with an almost blood-like red covering the center piece, spikes coming off the back outside of a red cape which now trailed behind him. He looked at the sky, the sun and moon slowly moving towards one another, the light from the sun shining through the Sun Crystal while the moon's light channeled through the Moon Crystal, causing the eyes of the statue holding them to light up. Machinery began to grind into action, the heads moving with the moon slowly towards one another. "Yes, its almost time!" he shouted. "Soon the power to smite the dragons will be in my hands! Revenge will belong to the Naga!" he yelled, laughing as an army of Naga ready for battle stood along side Serpent's Edge.

* * *

The electrical sphere prevented Spyro and Cynder from getting close enough to actually do anything and the three-headed dragon kept using her various breaths to render incoming attacks useless. They were blasted to the ground by an Electric Bomb and struggled to their feet quickly. "Spyro!" yelled Cynder, dodging a blast of ice shards coming her way. "I've got an idea, if you're willing to try."

Spyro took flight again and barrel rolled past a burst of flames, Deadlock hovering in the air surrounded by the barrier of electricity. "I'm open to suggestions!"

"Water conducts electricity, right?" asked Cynder, diving under a polar bomb as she took back to the air, getting a nod from Spyro as he evaded a Fire Bomb. "Well use ice into a Wind Sphere and then fire!"

Spyro was perplexed for a moment before realizing what she meant and nodding. He spat his ice breath at her as she formed a wind sphere, managing to dodge several Electric Breaths as she did so. He then breathed fire into the sphere, turning the ice to water. As Deadlock prepared another attack, Cynder let loose the Wind Sphere at the three headed dragoness. Deadlock used her Electric Breath to detonate the Wind Sphere, but was splashed by the water, causing the electric shield to shock her violently, forcing her to lower it. Stunned, Deadlock was left open for a Comet Dash from Spyro followed by a burst of Shadow Fire from Cynder, sending her crashing hard to the ground.

Deadlock snarled, eyes glaring daggers at the two. "You just won't give up… We can't blame you. You are parents defending your family," said the ice head, watching sun and moon light begin to enter the room via holes in the ceiling. They hit the Dark Crystals, causing them to react and send beams of dark energy into the lava pool, causing it to turn black, a vortex beginning to open. "… But so are we…"

Cynder gasped. "Spyro! The ritual is starting!" she exclaimed, worry entering her voice.

"I know," said Spyro, worry in his voice. "…Concentrate on the Dark Crystals!"

"We don't think so," said the fire head fiercely, letting loose a powerful burst of flames, forcing the two to dodge.

"We're not letting you take our family again!" yelled all three heads. Before the two dragons could realize what she meant, the ice head breathed a thin layer of armor-like ice over her body and she then surrounded herself in a Comet Dash, flying straight at them. The two were forced to dodge, but Deadlock merely changed direction and slammed into them from behind, knocking them to the ground.

Spyro looked up with a groan as Deadlock dove at the two of them again, forcing them to fly out of the way as she blew a crater in the ground they'd just been standing, but didn't dissipate the Comet Dash, instead flying straight up and slamming into them hard, knocking them back to the ground. "That can't be!" exclaimed Spyro in shock as he stood up and took off with Cynder to avoid being struck again by Deadlock's Comet Dash. "H-how is she keeping up a Comet Dash for so long? Even Fire Dragons have a limit to how much heat they can take!"

Cynder and Spyro were forced to dodge twice more before Deadlock stopped, put a fresh layer of ice over her skin and started the Comet Dash again. "That's it!" yelled Cynder, diving out of the way of the Comet Dash again, Spyro doing the same but quickly had to evade another run at them.

"What is it?" asked Spyro, narrowly avoiding another ram from Deadlock, getting a rather painful burn on his back. They had to avoid several more times before Cynder could reply.

Cynder panted as Deadlock stopped to reapply her icy armor. "The ice, she's using it to protect herself from the heat! It keeps her cool as it melts!"

Spyro nodded in realization before the two had to dodge an incoming Comet Dash, only to be driven to the ground by one from behind. "That explains how she's doing it, but how do we stop it?" he asked, the two barely evading another Comet Dash from Deadlock as she hit the ground, blowing a massive crater in the ground. Both her now burnt, battered, and bruised from the repeated assaults.

"When she stops to reapply the ice; we've got to hit her then!" called Cynder, Deadlock apparently unable to hear them over the flames of her attack, watching Deadlock slow down. "Now!"

As Deadlock lowered her fiery shell, Spyro and Cynder flew straight at her, linking their claws and concentrating, purple energy engulfing them in a Convexity version of a Comet Dash. Together, they plowed straight into Deadlock's chest, flying her backwards and slamming her hard onto her back, cracking the ground.

Spyro and Cynder panted, looking down at Deadlock's prone form. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, the fire and electric heads lashing out and biting down on them, shocking and burning their captives before throwing them across the room with as much force as she could manage.

The three headed dragoness looked over her shoulder as the eclipse drew nearer still and bolts of energy surged out of the portal, connecting to the six eggs. "Soon… Soon Andreas… All of you… We can hold you in our arms again…" whispered the ice head, giving a small bittersweet smile, realizing the cost this would come at. "Sisters, lets put an end to this, once and for all!" said the ice head, getting nods. The ice head quickly concentrated, forming a sphere of icy energy around her, the electric head forming an electric sphere around that, and finally, the fire head forming a Comet Dash around that, forming a swirling sphere of fire, ice, and electricity.

Spyro and Cynder, still bleeding from their bites, nodded to each other. They flew up and linked paws again, using a Convexity Comet Dash like before, only putting more effort into it. The two attacks collided; letting loose a shockwave that cracked the pillars in the room from it's force. The three dragons pushed their power against one another, each trying to gain an advantage in the collision, blue, yellow, red, and purple light radiating from the point where the attacks collided.

"Hang on Cynder!" yelled Spyro, putting his all into the attack, straining against Deadlock's power.

"I won't give up, don't worry!" yelled Cynder, much the same as her mate. Through the bright light of the collision, she could see the determination on Deadlock's faces and something came to her mind. The faces looked so familiar; the determination in Deadlock's eyes just stirred something in their minds. It was something so familiar she could almost feel the same thing… Then it hit her… _Could it be… The ritual is for…_ she thought, but shook her head, concentrating instead on her egg, snarling and pushing back harder.

Spyro followed his mate's gaze to their egg and gave a snarl. "I'm not letting you down… Papa will save you…" he said under his breath, unsure if the egg could even hear him but not caring.

Cynder nodded. "Mama too… We'll be back together soon…" she said softly.

Both Dragon's let out a yell and put more force into their attack, Deadlock's energy sphere suddenly crumbling under it. Deadlock's eyes widened as they slammed into her chest, letting out a roar of pain as it plowed her backwards. Aiming their attack, the two drove Deadlock straight through the first of the Dark Crystals, then kept going; swinging around and using Deadlock as a battering ram to shatter the other three crystals to pieces before finally letting her go, sending her crashing to the ground nearby with a good bit of force.

The two landed, panting heavily and barely able to move, but watched as the portal formed in the lava became unstable and shattered completely, the beams to the eggs fizzling out. Cynder could barely stand, but gave a small smile. "We did it…" she muttered, looking to the eggs, but still seeing the last crystal sustaining an energy barrier. Before she could make a move to remove it, she heard Deadlock let out a loud gasp.

Deadlock looked at the shattered crystals, some of which remained lodged in her back, which she subconsciously used her tail to bat out. She looked at the eggs and the lava pool… The portal gone. Tears began down her faces and she began to cry.

* * *

Pyrus looked to his sister, who walked with her head down, worry and guilt clear in her face. "Cyros?" he asked, nudging her lightly. "Are you alright?" he asked, worry plain in his face and voice.

Cyros looked up at him slowly. "I still feel so guilty… But it's not just that… What about mom?" she asked, now filled with concern for her mother. "What if they can't stop her peacefully? What if she dies?" she asked, tears starting in her eyes. "Its been years since I've treated her like my mother, all because of my stupid pride… What if I never get the chance?" she asked, trying to stop the tears running down her face.

Pyrus gave her a serious look. "Don't think like that, Cyros," he said, giving his sister a nuzzle. "You realized you were wrong before it was too late, I'm sure mom can do the same…"

Cyros nodded sorrowfully. "But only after I'd nearly killed Kage. If that hadn't happened, then I'd have killed you…" she said, guilt plain in her face. How could she not be guilty? She'd wrecked her relationship with her family, nearly killed her brother and her best friend, and came close to losing her mind, all for a pointless grudge coming from a misunderstanding. _Maybe if mom hurt something she cared about trying for her revenge, it'd snap her out of it too…_ she thought, confusion and guilt wracking her mind. She'd been forgiven… But that didn't mean she felt like she'd earned forgiveness.

Before Pyrus could respond, a loud crash, anguished scream tore through the air, one he recognized the voice of. "That's mom!" he yelled. "Everyone! Hurry!" he yelled, breaking into a sprint.

Cyros gave a guilty look ahead. "P-Please mom… Don't do something you'll regret…" she said silently before running after them. They could begin to hear the voices coming from the chamber ahead almost perfectly.

* * *

Spyro and Cynder watched in shock as Deadlock essentially broke down in tears at the sight of the ritual being thwarted. After a few moments, Cynder had to ask. "Deadlock, that spell… It was to bring your family back to life, wasn't it?" she asked in a very somber tone.

Deadlock gasped lightly but then slowly nodded. "Y-yes, t was," said the ice head, voice breaking in sorrow as she spoke. "It would've t-transferred their spirits into the eggs. T-then turn the infant's bodies into copies of their bodies before they died…"

Spyro gasped in shock, looking to his mate. "How did you know?" he asked, in both a mournful and confused tone. He saw Deadlock's sorrow, and he couldn't blame her. Being so close to having her lost family returned to her, only for it to be ripped away…

"She said five children, plus her mate; she stole six eggs," explained Cynder. "We learned before from our friend that what Deadlock was doing was very important to her," she continued, not using Pyrus' name to avoid making Deadlock even more heartbroken than she already was. Naturally, that, was the last thing she wanted to do at this point. "And then I saw the determination in her eyes in the fight… It's the same we had; the determination someone has when protecting their family…" she continued, looking at the three-headed dragon with sorrow and sympathy.

Spyro looked back to Deadlock. "Deadlock, we're sorry… But do you honestly think your family would want this?" he asked in a serious tone. "To be placed in the stolen bodies of children?"

"Of course not," replied the sobbing electric head. "B-but we'd tried everything else…"

"All we wanted was to have our family back…" said the ice head, tears running down her face and falling to the floor as she looked to the shattered crystals, heartbreak in the face of all three heads. "…We know our second clutch wouldn't even know who we are, but we Andreas and our children… We miss them more than anything…"

"We just wanted them back, more than anything else," replied the fire head, steam rising from her face as tears met her hot skin. "Now we've lost them again…"

The three heads suddenly glared at Spyro and Cynder, the wounded but still powerful Naga Queen standing up once again. "And again, it's because of you two!" yelled all three heads as read hot fury replaced sorrow and despair. Before Spyro and Cynder could react, the ice head breathed a torrent of ice at them which the fire melted with a burst of flames, drenching them in water that allowed the electric head to violently shock them by putting the foot on her side in the resulting pool of water and sending off a powerful burst of electricity.

Spyro and Cynder shook violently as they were electrocuted, screaming in agony. As the shock ceased, the two fell to the ground in terrible pain, allowing the ice head then let loose a freezing mist, freezing them to the floor but still leaving them conscious. "Every time there's anything going our way, you two are the ones that ruin it!" yelled the fire head, smoke rising from her nostrils as she glared holes in the two dragons along with her sisters.

"We said we'd give you the chance to fight for the children, we did and intend to keep our word," said the ice head, a serious tone about it. "The eggs will be returned to the Dragon Temple… But you won't…"

The electric head snarled. "We're going to make sure we never lose anything because of you _ever_ again!" she roared, fury and hatred in the eyes of the three-headed dragoness.

"Prepare to die!" yelled all three heads, charging up fire, ice, and electricity which whipped around them. The three headed dragoness floated into the air, the three elements swirling around her and building up.

Spyro and Cynder tried to move, but between the electrocution, their existing fatigue, and the ice holding them to the floor, there was nothing they could do. Cynder looked towards her egg. "No… Please… Ancestors, please don't let me die here; not when I'm so close!" she muttered to herself, fear overcoming her as she watched the powerful attack prepare to fire.

Pyrus and company burst into the room, watching Deadlock charge up her fury, but it was too late to attack her and stop it through the swirling elements. "Mom! Stop this!" yelled Pyrus at the top of his lungs, but it was no use. Over the noise of the swirling elements, Deadlock couldn't hear him. "Stop it!" he yelled again, trying to break through to her but to no avail.

Cyros looked at the situation, her own thoughts resurfacing in her head.

_Maybe if mom hurt something she cared about trying for her revenge, it'd snap her out of it…_

Cyros got a serious look and suddenly took off flying. "Cyros!" yelled Pyrus in shock, watching his sister take off into harms way.

"Princess! Don't!" yelled Kage, reaching out in vain to try and grab Cyros' tail to stop her.

"Everyone! Take cover!" yelled Delilah, pulling Kage out of the room, Ember doing the same with Pyrus to safety.

Cyros flew in front of Spyro and Cynder, landing in front of them. "Mom! Stop it!" she yelled, but Deadlock couldn't see or hear her through the elemental Fury. "Look! It's me! Cyros! Stop it!" she yelled again, but it was no use at all. As the powerful shockwave of ice, electricity, and fire surged out of Deadlock straight at them, Cyros spun around, covering Spyro and Cynder with her wings and using herself as a shield. "…Please… Forgive me…" she said sincerely, time seeming to slow down as the two's eyes widened in shock at what she was doing and who was doing it. "I'm sorry for what I did before… Forgive me…" said Cyros before she took the combined Fury full on in the back and screamed in complete agony, being shocked violently, ice forming on her back and wings, then blasted off by fire, burning and tearing her flesh as it happened. She could practically feel her wings _melting_ from the voltage and flames but planted her feet in the ground, refusing to budge as she did everything she could to protect the two helpless dragons in front of her. Finally, she was sent flying by the last shockwave of the attack and everything went black as she hit the ground.

Deadlock smirked as she landed, believing her revenge was complete… then her eyes widened in horror and her blood ran cold as she saw just who had taken the brunt of her Fury Attack. She saw her daughter, laying with blood pouring from her badly wounded back and her wings… She couldn't even bare to look at the wings as they were so badly mangled. For a moment, she could only stare at the horrific deed she'd just done. "NO!" yelled Deadlock's three heads, tears flooding her eyes as she ran to her daughter. "Cyros!" she yelled, sobbing and crying as she looked down at her horrifically wounded child. "Cyros! Speak to us! Please say something!" she yelled frantically, cradling her badly wounded daughter in her arms. "Speak to us!"

Deadlock snapped around, snarling as Ember freed Spyro and Cynder from ice. "What have you…what have you…" she started, anger and fury in her voice before realization set in as to how the situation had occurred, how she hadn't seen her own daughter flying into the path of the attack before she fired. How she hadn't noticed her child being bombarded by her full fury or heard her screams. It wasn't their fault.

"No… What have _we_ done?" asked the ice head, looking down at the form of her daughter, bleeding in her grasp. "By the Ancestors, what have we done?" she cried, the three heads sobbing over the broken form of her adopted daughter.

For several moments, the group could only watch in horror and sorrow as Deadlock cried over Cyros' form. Pyrus could only look on in shock, eyes wide in terror. Ember put a paw on his should sympathetically, trying to be of any comfort she could be. Even Sparx couldn't fight back tears at the sight while Nina hid her face from the dreadful sight while hugging Flash, who held his wife and looked on solemnly.

Delilah watched sadly, tears in her eyes for once. " I know how that feels…" she said, sorrow and heartbreak in her own voice this time, as if the matter had a hidden significance in her mind.

"Deadlock…" muttered Cynder, tears welling up in her eyes. Even after all Deadlock had done to them; she couldn't feel anything except sympathy for her as the same dragoness who'd tried to kill her and Spyro moments prior cried her heart out over her broken and possibly dying child who she'd struck in a fit of rage. Cynder couldn't imagine wishing this on anyone… Spyro felt exactly the same way.

Kage came over to Deadlock, putting a hand on his queen's leg. "My queen, let me see her. Demi, Delilah, you said you're both good at medicine, come quickly, there might still be time to save her!" he called, Deadlock hesitantly putting her daughter down, now covered in the smaller dragoness' blood herself. Deadlock watched Kage and the two others get to work.

Pyrus walked over to his mother, looking up at her. His face a mixture of all sort of emotions, anger and sorrow being the clearest. "Mom!" he said, getting the sobbing dragoness to look him in the eyes. "Well, was it worth it now?" he asked as he looked to his broken sister, tears forming in his eyes and he began to sob. "Was your stupid revenge worth this?" he yelled, anger and sorrow rising up in his voice as his head dropped, facing down with tears streaming down his face.

Deadlock looked shocked at her son's outburst… Then cast her gaze around the room, time almost seemed to stop as she did so. She looked back to her daughter, laying bleeding on the floor, possibly dying, her son crying his eyes out over his sister. She then looked to Spyro and Cynder, who instead of rushing to their egg, merely watched Cyros with nothing but worry and concern, Cynder even crying at the site. Crying for the very one who had been trying to destroy her all this time.

"N-no…" sobbed all three heads. "No, it wasn't…" she cried, breaking down in tears once more. "It was never worth this…"

"We were so blinded by thirst for vengeance we didn't even see our own daughter flying into the crossfire," cried the fire head, all three drooped in depression as the full realization of how pointless the circumstances that had caused Cyros to now be fighting for her life had been.

"And it wasn't even their fault, mom!" yelled Pyrus, looking up at her with tears in his eyes as Ember tried to do anything she could to comfort him but was at a loss for how to. "Spyro wasn't even born yet! Cynder was being controlled by the Dark Master! Malefor is to blame and he's gone for good!" he yelled, letting out fear, frustration, and sorrow with every word. "He's the one you should've wanted revenge on, not Spyro and Cynder! And look at what it's caused!" he yelled, pointing to his wounded sister. "Even if Cynder was like that, she's not anymore! You should've let go of your stupid grudge years ago, but you didn't and look what it's done!"

Deadlock looked shocked for a moment, then the realization set in that he was right… "Pyrus… You're… You're right…" the ice head muttered, the three-headed dragoness overwhelmed by guilt and horror at her own actions.

"…Our revenge was pointless… If we'd only realized that sooner… Cyros would be ok…" sobbed the fire head, looking over the broken form of her daughter.

"Pyrus… We're sorry… We're so sorry…" cried the electric head, tears running down the faces of all three head. She pulled Pyrus in and hugged him, letting him cry on her shoulder as she cried over him, holding him close as the family cried with uncertainty as to the fate of the dragoness whose life hung in the balance.

Demi slowly looked down at the unconscious dragoness in front of her. _That's what you wanted to happen, isn't it?_ she thought, applying pressure and herbs to a wound on her back as Delilah wrapped pieces of cloth tightly around the bases of Cyros' badly mangled wings to cut off the blood flow so she wouldn't bleed to death. _You knew if Deadlock saw you in the path of your attack, whether she hit you or not she'd realize what she'd become… Didn't you?_

After about ten minutes, Kage finally rose up with a sigh. "It was a close call, but she'll live…" he reported, getting a multitude of sighs of relief from all present. "If the attack had done just a little more damage, it'd have killed her…"

Deadlock looked down in sorrow at this. "Our attack…" muttered the ice head, eyes in all three heads bloodshot from crying.

Pyrus walked over, putting his hand on his sister's heavily bandaged back, noticing her wings, horrifically torn and burnt, were untreated other than the bleeding being stopped. The sight nearly made him faint, but he kept his composure. "So… She'll be alright?" he asked, shaken badly and still with tears in his eyes.

Ember stood next to Pyrus, eyes clamped shut so she wouldn't have to look at the rather sickening sight of Cyros' mangled wings. But she wanted to be there for Pyrus and kept a paw on his shoulder regardless.

Kage gave a sad sigh. "Her body, yes. But perhaps not her wings. I might be able to fix them, but there's no guarantee she'll ever be able to fly again…"

Deadlock gasped in horror, a terrified gaze falling on her daughter's badly damaged wings. "It's all our fault… Every bit of it…" said the ice head, tearing up once more with tears she didn't think she had left. Deadlock felt horrible, truly horrible. She was a parent who may have crippled her own daughter's ability to fly; all for a pointless grudge against those who had truly done nothing wrong…

Deadlock looked over to Spyro and Cynder, who had kept a respectful distance and silence, tending to their own wounds from the fight using gems along with Delilah and Demi's assistance. The three-headed dragoness solemnly walked over and took a deep breath. She tried to stop her tears, but she couldn't do so completely despite her best efforts. "Spyro, Cynder… We're sorry for everything we've done…" said the fire head, true guilt and remorse in her voice.

"24 years of a pointless grudge and you didn't deserve any of this. We were just so grief-stricken when we heard about the deaths of our six adult children after all we'd lost before… We had to lash out at someone, anyone…" said the ice head, sharing her sister's guilt ridden appearance.

"Unfortunately for everyone, we were convinced we should lash at out you two," muttered the electric head, none of her characteristic happiness present.

"And now that pointless grudge nearly cost us our daughter's life and it might still prevent her from ever flying again," said the ice head, stifling a sob as she spoke of the horrific deed she'd done. "We don't expect forgiveness… We haven't since we kidnapped your egg. We just wanted to tell you we finally realized what a terrible mistake we've made."

Spyro and Cynder looked up at the three faces hovering above them, each with a look of absolute sorrow and regret plastered on it. Cynder looked up at her, then to Cyros' prone and broken form. She looked back to Deadlock. "Your children mean absolutely everything to you, don't they?" she asked in a completely serious tone.

Deadlock nodded slowly, a look of heartbreak on her faces. "Everything, but we lost sight of that. We let our revenge consume us so completely that we forgot what really matters to us. And we wanted our old family back so badly we nearly lost the new one we already have," said the ice head, the three-headed dragoness looking at her badly wounded child as Kage tried desperately to save Cyros' wings as Pyrus cried over his sister, Ember letting him cry on her shoulder as she hugged him. "They have paid the price for our foolishness…"

"In the past few weeks, we've neglected them. We didn't even leave this room the entire week to see them or talk to them," continued the electric head, regret heavy in her voice.

"And now our baby may never fly again. All because of our selfish lust for revenge on those who'd done nothing against wrong," choked the fire head, the Naga Queen no longer able to restrain her tears.

"On top of that, we've put the Naga, the people we've sworn to be a good and loving queen to, in harms way…" explained the ice head, not even restraining her tears any longer. "All for the sake of revenge on those who never deserved it… Andreas and our children would be ashamed of us…"

Spyro and Cynder took in the dragoness' words, saw the pain and anguish of a mother who'd harmed her own child and a queen who'd put her people in danger. Neither of them had the heart to tell her Pyrus and Cyrus hadn't even been in Serpent's Edge for over a week.

"You've suffered enough for what you've done," said Cynder, sincerity in her voice as she looked up at the dragoness with sympathy. "You'll have to live with what happened to Cyros the rest of your life; that's a worse punishment than we could ever inflict on anyone," she stated, sorrow filling her face as she looked at the scene surrounding them, Cyros' dried blood still on Deadlock from cradling her critically injured daughter. "…I'm don't think you deserved anything close to this… No one could ever deserve this…"

Spyro nodded slowly. "And it's not completely your fault you did all of this; Malefor really caused all of this. It was his actions that drove you to this," he remarked, thinking back to what the poor dragoness had endured, a clear sense of pity falling over him. "You lost everything you ever cared about because of him…I don't think any dragon could keep their sanity under those circumstances."

"So yes, Deadlock, we forgive you," said Cynder, after giving a moment of serious thought. Spyro nodded slowly in agreement with her.

Deadlock looked completely dumbfounded by this, having expected _anything_ except forgiveness. "Y-you forgive us?" asked the electric head in disbelief.

"W-we tried to ruin your life… How can you forgive us?" asked the fire head in complete shock.

"We stole your egg, we've done unspeakable things," continued the ice head, equally as confused as her siblings. "And you can find it in your hearts to forgive us for that?"

Cynder nodded without hesitation. "I can forgive you because I know how you feel," she explained, looking down. "Malefor did _everything_ he could to break me before I was corrupted, so I couldn't resist his power… And he succeeded," she continued, giving a sorrowful look as Spyro put his paw on her shoulder. "By the time I was Dark Cynder, a part of me was just glad I wasn't suffering anymore… Another part was actually glad because it blamed the Dragons for not rescuing me from the pain I'd endured… I hated that part so much," she continued, looking back up at Deadlock. "But now I'm glad it existed, because it means I can understand you. I know how it feels when you're snapped back to your senses and all that guilt hits you head on… How crushing and horrible it feels."

Cynder gave a deep breath to prevent herself from delving too deeply into her horrible memories. "And that's why I can forgive you, because if I didn't, how could I expect anyone to forgive me?"

Spyro nodded. "I forgave Cynder for everything she did for the same reason I can forgive you; because I know Malefor's actions did this to you, just like he did to Cynder. You couldn't think straight the way your mind was. No offense, but you weren't right in the heads, but it wasn't your fault. Everything that happened to you caused you to just… Snap. And no dragon in the Dragon Realms can blame you for that. You've suffered more than any being should ever have to, just like Cynder did. That's why I can forgive you… Because I forgave her," he explained, giving his mate a loving nuzzle, getting close by her side, lying a wing over her back for comfort. He knew talking about her past was far from easy.

Deadlock gave a small, sad sigh. "You're right, we were sick in the heads… We still are we guess," said the ice head in a remorseful tone as she realized just how insane she'd gotten.

"When this is all over, we want to get help to fix that," said the electric head, looking to her sisters and then back to Spyro and Cynder.

The fire head nodded in agreement, looking to Cyros. "So this never happens again, so we're no longer a danger to the ones we care about."

Cynder nodded, putting a paw on Deadlock's shoulder lightly. "And we'll make sure you get it, I promise," she said, giving as comforting a smile she could give.

Deadlock, for the first time since Cyros had been hurt, gave a small, grateful smile on each head. "Thank you. That means quite a lot… And thank you for your forgiveness, that means even more." said the ice head. The heads then looked at one another, talking mentally. Deadlock then went over to the crystal still in place and tore it out, lowering the barrier. "Please, your child misses you, we can be sure of that…" she stated, stepping out of the way of them. "We can talk more afterwards… Family is the most important thing for all of us right now…" she muttered, looking sadly upon her broken child.

Cynder and Spyro looked to one another then to Deadlock, their hearts skipping a beat as she said the words they'd been thinking for all this time. "T-thank you… I hope Cyros recovers as well…" said Cynder, unable to leave Deadlock without wishing her well. Tears forming in her eyes, she ran to her little egg, nuzzling it tenderly for quite some time. "Mommy's here. She missed you so much," she said, tears of joy at finally being reunited with her adopted egg.

Spyro joined her quickly, giving it as loving a nuzzle he could manage and allowing himself to slip, joyful tears streaming down his face. "Daddy is here too. We won't let anything happen to you… we promise" he whispered, the two stopping their nuzzling and looking down at the egg, softly giving reassurances to the unborn child that it was finally back where it belonged. After this whole journey, nothing felt so wonderful as this reunion did. The two nuzzled each other, exchanging loving glances before each laying their head next to their adopted child.

Deadlock smiled at the two lightly, then looked up, closing her six eyes in sorrow. "Andreas…we pray you and the children can forgive us…and we're sorry we did all this in your name…you'd never have wanted this…we're sorry…we truly are…" said all three heads in tandem, sorrow and regret filling their voice.

Sparx looked to Delilah, who was cleaning herself off after helping save Cyros' life. "…So…have you seen _this_ before?" he asked, this time completely serious.

Delilah paused for a second, then sighed. "The hurting someone inadvertently with my actions or seeing someone you care about horrifically wounded?" she asked, sorrow in her voice. "Both I've had both happen to me…"

Sparx blinked in surprise and shock. "When?"

Delilah looked at him seriously. "I used to be a thief until I ruined a family's lives without realizing it. I felt absolutely terrible about it and changed my ways… As for the other was the Cupcakes Incident," she answered, various emotions like sorrow and grief coming into her face. "That was the first time I encountered an alternate universe of one I knew. I didn't know at the time that it wasn't my own friend I saw this really bad thing I saw happen to. Not that that version of her didn't matter, of course she did. But I didn't realize the version of them I knew was safe the entire time and this one was a stranger until after all was said and done."

Sparx rubbed his head nervously, having a bit of regret for finding her phobia so strange before. It also made him feel pretty bad for her. "Whoa… No wonder you're afraid of those things…" he muttered, then blinked as he realized something. "Wait, how did that make you afraid of cupcakes?"

Delilah gave a disgusted look. "You don't want to know," she muttered with a shudder.

Sparx gave it some thought but then nodded. "Yeah, I do. If I don't, it'll bug me forever. I think I've seen enough messed up stuff it won't bother me."

Delilah sighed, then whispered something in his antenna. Sparx just looked at her with a shocked and rather horrified look in response. "Oh... Now _I'm _afraid of them…"

Spyro slowly walked around the eggs, examining them each to make sure they too were ok. Nina and Flash floated next to the egg, Cynder with her head laying next to it, relieved and happy to have her adopted child there again. "We're grandparents…" said Nina, smiling as she looked at the egg.

Flash nodded, putting his arm around his mate. "Yes, we are…" he said, smiling lightly and proudly.

Spyro looked up, watching the sun and moon come so close to touching. He then gave a gasp of shock as he realized something. "Oh no…" he muttered, looking around the ruined ritual area…and finding no sign of the two crystals from his vision.

Cynder blinked in confusion and surprise as she looked up from their egg to look at Spyro. "Spyro, what's wrong?"

"I…I don't think this is over yet…" said Spyro, fear now clear in his face. "We have to talk to Deadlock, _now!_"

The two ran to Deadlock as quickly as possible. "Deadlock!" yelled Spyro, looking at the three-headed dragoness as she stood mournfully over her injured child, watching Kage work diligently on her daughter's wings with Pyrus and Ember at her side. "You have to tell me, quick! Did you use a pair of crystals looking like the sun and moon in the ritual?"

Deadlock looked at him in complete confusion. "No…no I didn't, why do you ask?" she asked, seeing his fear and now becoming concerned.

"I had a vision…" said Spyro, quickly, looking around at the group. "I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to distract us from the mission and I forgot about it…in my vision, these two crystals, one shaped like the sun, the other like a moon, were moving together with the eclipse, then this great big eye appeared and stared at me…"

Kage gasped in shock, looking up from his work. "The Sun and Moon Crystals?" he asked, disbelief now in his voice. "But…they were buried to prevent their use centuries ago..."

"Kage," said Deadlock's ice head in a serious tone. "What is this about?"

"Those crystals are very powerful magic even the Naga were afraid of," explained Kage in a grave tone. "They contain the power of the Naga Spirit of War. If used on the eclipse, which is her symbol, they give their user the avatar of her power," he continued, fear plain as day in his voice. "Anyone who uses them in a ritual today will be given command of a terrifying beast of such awesome power that an entire civilization could be laid to waste before it; that's why the Naga sealed the crystals away, so no one being could possess such great power."

"But who would want to do such a thing?" asked Demi, frightened now by the story.

Pyrus suddenly gasped in realization. "Mom…who gave you that black magic spell book?" he asked slowly, dread filling his voice

Deadlock blinked for a moment, then all three heads gasped in horror. "Grendel!" they exclaimed.

Spyro looked up at Deadlock gravely. "…I'm afraid Malefor isn't the only one who is responsible for all this," he said in a serious tone.

Delilah snarled. "Oh not again!" she exclaimed in annoyance, then noticed the strange look this warranted. "You will not believe how many times I've seen a second-in-command betray their boss! _Especially _that one giant, transforming robot who turns into a jet!" she explained, once more as if it was nothing weird.

"As I was saying…" said Spyro, breaking up the awkward silence following Delilah's statement. "We need to find him, quick or we're in major trouble…"

* * *

Grendel stood before the shrine, the priests beginning to chant some ancient language as the two crystals and the heads holding them moved with the sun and moon, the only word recognizable in the chant being "Hydra". Finally, the eclipse began to take shape. The two crystals where brought together, a great glow radiating out from them and the eyes of the dragons holding them. "Mighty Spirit Of War! I beseech you! Give me your power to wipe those pitiful dragons from the face of the world and finally have revenge for them banishing the Naga so many centuries ago!"

The jewel suddenly erupted with a red and blue energy, a beam flying out and slamming into Grendel's chest. "Yes! I feel it!" he yelled, his eyes taking on a similar shape to those from Spyro's dreams. "The power! It's mine! It's all mine!" he yelled, beginning to laugh evilly as has his regenerated hand burst through the hook he'd replaced it with before a pair of eyes erupted on each of his four hands and his body began to morph and contort.

Grendel was engulfed in energy as the combined jewel flew into his chest. The energy carried him off to a nearby clearing, a massive flash of light exploding outwards, inside the energy forming a gigantic, multi-headed horror…

* * *

Alright... I made myself sad there. Seriously, I almost cried writing that part with Cyros, that doesn't happen often! And I think this may be my longest chapter ever if I'm not mistaken.

To cover some things, since I got an unsigned review that brought up some good points (by the way, thanks to everyone who reviews, regardless of rather you sign in or not) and responding to those may answer for some other people. This story wasn't meant to have Spyro as it's complete main focus. The problem mainly concentraited on Cynder, so she got more focus. I assure you, the next two will have Spyro in a stronger focus. Second, as for Cyros not seeming to get what she had coming, _this_ chapter was why. I wanted her to feel like she hadn't earned forgiveness to motivate her to do what she did. Not that it was the _only_ reason, she was also saving Spyro and Cynder's lives and snapping Deadlock out of her revenge fueled rage.

Also, to point out; I didn't got into a lot of detail about Cyros' wings because I felt it'd be more horrible if I left it to the imagination as to what happened to them with a few facts mentioned. That and you can only get away with so much gory detail in a T rated fic and too much description would distract from the moment in my mind. Hope that turned out alright.

Anyway, love has redeemed Deadlock but at a grave price. Will Cyros recover to full health or forever carry the scars of her mother's folly? And just what has Grendel unleashed? Here's a hint, it's not based solely on the mythological hydra. See you next time!


	28. Spirit Of War

Time for the final climatic showdown with General Grendel and his beast! For those who didn't guess, the Hydra in this fic is somewhat based of Lovecraft's works, where there was a Great Old One named Queen Hydra, just explain that. Anyway, moving on.

**IMPORTANT UPDATE!** I've rewritten the "Endgame" chapter. As I said when I wrote it, I wasn't feeling well and didn't feel it was up to snuff. So I did some rewrites, please reread it, as some of the new changes will make something in this chapter make sense that won't if you don't read it. I'm sorry for that, but I just felt I didn't do it nearly as well as I could the first time around. For those that don't feel like reading, read here but **BEWARE SPOILERS! DON'T READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT BY REREADING THAT CHAPTER!**

The most important change is that Demi and Sparx _did not_ forgive Cyros right away, instead telling her she'd need to earn their forgiveness.

Anyway, moving on. Enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

**Spirit Of War**

Deadlock covered her children with her wings as the cave shook with Grendel's transformation. "What's going on?" asked the three-headed dragon looking around.

"I fear Grendel must've succeeded in waking the Spirit of War from her slumber," said Kage in a grave tone.

"We'd better head outside and see what's going on," advised Cynder, worry in her tone.

Deadlock nodded. "Kage… Will you watch Cyros? We appointed General Grendel to his position and have played into his hands, it's our responsibility to see to this situation," asked the ice head in a solemn tone with faces full of guilt.

Kage nodded. "Of course, your majesty. I will do whatever I can for her," he replied, but held up his hand when they tried to leave. "Legends say the only way to stop what Grendel has unleashed is to separate the Sun and Moon Jewels. The only information on that is this saying 'Behind the true eyes of the beast lay the key to it all.' That is the only clue as to their location I know," he reported. "And you must not destroy the Jewels."

Spyro and Cynder looked at one another in confusion. "Why?" asked Spyro, confusion clear in his voice.

"It's said the power within them is so great that their destruction would be catastrophic. That's why they were hidden all those centuries ago as opposed to destroyed," explained Kage. "That's all I have to tell you, you'd best hurry."

"Alright, solve freaky riddle, separate the artifacts of doom, and don't destroy them or something bad happens," said Sparx. "Got it."

Kage nodded, watching the group hurry off before turning to Cyros. "My princess…" he said, putting a hand on her mangled wings. "I hope all turns out alright…"

* * *

The smoke cleared outside to reveal a massive, towering behemoth the size of a mountain. It's body was like a snake, black as night in color. It's tail stretched for miles to the point the Naga standing in the crowd could not see it's end. Atop this massive serpent's body were seven snake-like heads yellow eyes. Each had red pupils except for the central one rising out of the middle of the other six, which had green. Each of theses heads was surrounded by a mass of writhing black, octopus-like tentacles which flailed as the heads roared. The opening of it's mauls as it roared revealed rows of massive shark-like teeth.

Spyro and company let out a gasp of shock at the gigantic beast's visage. Ember shuddered. "It's r-really big!" she gasped, somewhat frightened.

"By the Ancestors, I've never seen anything so enormous," stated Deadlock's ice head in complete shock.

"We have…" said Spyro, staring wide-eyed at the monstrous creature.

"The Destroyer…" said Cynder, unable to hide the fear in her voice. "It's as big as the Destroyer!"

"Alright, now that we've all stated how big it is, can someone tell us what the heck it is?" yelled Sparx, looking wide eyed at the beast.

"The Hydra," responded Deadlock's ice head, a tone of worry in her voice. "The Naga Spirit of War, Grendel mentioned it before."

"Naga!" called Grendel's voice, emanating from the massive monster, which became quiet as its master spoke. "Behold! I have awakened the Hydra from her ancient slumber just as I promised you!" he called, getting cheers from the army assembled before him. "With this great beast, we shall attack the Dragon Realms! We shall at long last claim the revenge that has been kept from us for so many years! They will pay for the defeat and dishonor which they dealt us so very long ago! The Hydra will lay waste to them and when we are finished, not a one of those accursed reptiles will remain alive!" he continued, getting more cheers. "Onward to victory! To vengeance!"

"No!" yelled Deadlock's ice head, stopping the Naga and causing them to turn to the origination of the voice. Deadlock walked out into full view of her people. "This ends here, Grendel! We forbid this!"

"Deadlock," stated Grendel in a simple tone, as if he'd expected this. "Didn't you yourself take revenge on your enemies?"

"Yes, we did!" replied Deadlock's fire head, all three showing guilt momentarily. "But we were wrong!" she yelled, getting confused looks from the Naga. She turned to them.

"Naga, we're sorry for what we've put you through," continued the electric head.

"Our own revenge was based on a fallacy," explained the ice head. "We blamed those who had done us no wrong. As you do now!"

"No! Our reason for vengeance is right!" yelled Grendel's tone, anger coming in it. "The Dragons banished us centuries ago! They deserve this!"

"You're wrong!" yelled back Deadlock's ice head, standing firm despite the fact her opponent was a titanic beast said to be powerful enough to destroy an entire civilization. "It wasn't the Dragons who did the Naga wrong. Even you know the Naga attacked the Dragons first, Grendel! They were defending themselves! And more importantly, it was an act of mercy to banish the Naga!"

This got shocked gasps from the Naga, some getting angry. "Think!" called the fire head. "Malefor sought to _destroy_ the Naga completely! He sought genocide on your entire race! But the Dragons did not permit that. They refused to destroy the Naga despite what they'd suffered at their hands. The Dragons had right to revenge as well, but they refused to give into it and allow your destruction!"

The other heads nodded in agreement. "Our subjects, we're a dragon, you know this. But in all the years we've ruled you, have we ever done you wrong?" asked Deadlock's electric head, getting murmurs of conversation throughout the Naga horde. "We used you recently to get our own revenge, but we know now that was wrong, we're sorry… But we aren't leading you wrong this time! Princess Cyros, our daughter was nearly killed because of our grudge! We nearly lost the thing that mattered the most in the entire world to us, our family, all because of a grudge with no meaning!"

The heads motioned for Spyro and company to come over, which they quickly did, getting confused gasps from the Naga. "Spyro and Cynder did us no wrong; it was all the doing of that accursed Malefor! He was the one who sought to wrong you and he wronged us! The dragons suffered perhaps the most due all of his cruelty! It is with Malefor we should all be angry, and fate has already punished him for his sins," called the ice head in a serious tone. "Naga, we have buried our grudge! We no longer hold malice or hatred towards Spyro, Cynder, or any other dragon! We lay blame were it belongs and for the first time in 24 years, we are at some semblance peace because the true one deserving of our wrath lays imprisoned in the core of this world for all time!"

"Don't listen to her!" yelled Grendel's voice from the titanic Hydra. "She's a dragon herself! Of course she'd side with them! You can't take her word! If you do you're all fool-"

"You're the fool, _Prince_ Grendel!" yelled the ice head.

"Prince?" asked Cynder, confusion in her tone as she looked up at the Hydra in confusion.

"Grendel, you are the son of Queen Gorgon; a ruler who will go down in the annals of Naga history as Queen Gorgon the Monstrous!" replied the electric head, glaring daggers at her traitorous General. "But still, we offered you any position you desired because we blamed her for her crimes and gave you the benefit of the doubt! We didn't kill you as we had a right to do because didn't think you deserved to be punished for her crimes!"

"But I don't think she realized you were, you know… _completely insane _at the time!" said Sparx.

"He's right, we didn't realize how evil you really were back then!" yelled Deadlock's fire head. "If we had, we'd have never given you your position!"

The Naga Queen then looked to the Naga. "Our people; please listen! Even if the Dragons of that time deserved this grudge, the new generation that exists now has done _nothing_ to you! They don't deserve to pay for something which happened so very long ago! Why risk your lives for a grudge which has no meaning?" the ice head pleaded.

"On top of that, destroying the Dragon Realms will do nothing to help the Naga! But if we make peace with them, they may lift your banishment! They may let you finally interact with the world you were cast out from so very long ago and enjoy it as friends! But if Grendel has his way, only flaming ruin will greet you in the Dragon Realms!" the electric head continued, getting serious consideration out of the great number of the Naga.

"You can't be serious!" yelled Grendel, fury now in his tone. "You're actually buying into this?" he asked, his voice one of disbelief and confusion, as if the mere idea was beyond his comprehension.

"Please believe us! We became your queen to do that which is best for you! You all know we've only ever had your best interests at heart!" called Deadlock's electric head. "We've been lead astray by our vengeance once before, but we promise we won't let that happen again!"

"We implore you, for the good of Naga _and_ dragon alike, make peace and put down this ancient grudge that has no meaning any longer!" called the ice head. "Let us make peace!" she finished, standing still and watching the Naga carefully. No one budged.

"Did you think they'd listen to you?" asked Grendel, giving a laugh. "What a joke, Deadlock! A grudge this ancient wouldn't just be dropped like-" he continued, only for Naga to begin dropping their weapons, one by one, each slithering over to Deadlock's side of the area outside Serpent's Edge. "What are you doing?" the Naga General yelled, his voice completely bewildered by this occurrence. "Stop it! I command you! Y-You can't just drop our cause like that!" he cried as more and more Naga dropped their weapons and sided with Deadlock over the vile general. "Traitors! After all the work I've done to make this possible, you're going to give up just like that?"

"You just don't get it, do you?" asked Pyrus, joining his mother.

"They love her more than they want their revenge!" said Ember, walking up to stand by Deadlock, looking up at him as Demi and Delilah took their place with them. "A big dumb meanie like you who thinks only about revenge could never understand that!"

"She's right!" announced Cynder, her and Spyro joining them. "They know Deadlock is loyal to them and has their wellbeing at heart! They know that she came to their aid and saved them from a terrible tyrant who oppressed them! That's why they're loyal to her and abandon you!"

"And that loyalty to her is stronger than your grudge!" continued Spyro, the Naga nodding in unison at the dragons' statements.

There was silence from Grendel for a few moments, no response at all… Then came a slow laugh, gradually growing louder and more hysterical. "So what?" he yelled, venom in every word. "You think I care? I'll just destroy the Dragon Realms with or without their help! I don't care! Do you hear me?"

"If you think for one second we'll let you hurt anyone _we_ care about, you're sadly mistaken!" called Demi, standing firm by her friends. "We'll stop you! I swear we'll stop you!"

"Yeah! We're not about to let a nasty, rotten, mean, cruel… _monster_ like you destroy our home!" yelled Ember, snarling as she glared at the Hydra.

Grendel gave another laugh, growing more unhinged by the second. "You think you can stop me? Even the Purple Dragon of Legend doesn't scare me now! With the Hydra's power, I will reduce the Dragon Realms to ashes!" he replied. "And then… I'm coming back for all of you traitors! After I've let you bear witness to my glorious victory, you too will fall before my wrath!" he yelled, the Hydra's heads snarling furiously at the Naga army. "Hydra! To the Dragon Realms! Destroy it! Destroy it all!"

The Hydra let out a massive roar from her seven heads, turning and beginning to slither towards the Dragon Realms, her massive form cleaving a deep trench in the ground as she moved, uprooting and laying waste to everything in her path.

"Spyro, buddy… Just how do you propose we stop that thing?" asked Sparx, looking on in fear at the Hydra as she was moving deceptively fast towards the Dragon Realms, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. As if just to demonstrate her power, she blew massive craters in the ground with gigantic fireballs from her mouth, blasting tons of earth and rock high into the air with each blast in a rampage of destruction.

"Anyway we can," replied Spyro, serious determination in his face.

"I wish I could help…" said Deadlock's electric head. "But we're still wounded and tired from our battle. Our body took a lot more damage than yours did," she replied, showing fatigue in her body as she spoke, favoring one of her legs.

"It's alright, Deadlock," said Cynder, looking at the Naga. "You've done enough, leave the rest to us."

"Still, some backup would be nice," said Sparx with a sigh.

"Then the Naga will do all in their power to assist you, if it is their desire to do so," said the ice head. "Naga! Will you aid in defeating the traitorous General Grendel?" she called to her people, getting a cheer of agreement. Deadlock turned to the group. "Grendel made a grave mistake by giving us a common foe," she explained as the Naga army picking up weapons and armaments and heading after the Hydra.

Sparx smirked. "Yes! Finally we don't have to fight the big bad guy all by ourselves!" he cheered, showing excitement.

Spyro nodded before spreading his wings and taking off, Cynder and Demi following without question. Ember looked to Pyrus, who in turn looked to Deadlock. "Mom… They're my friends… I have to help them…"

Deadlock looked worried… But then gave a nod. "We know, sweetheart," said the ice head, all three nuzzling him. "But be careful, ok?" she asked, worry clear in her face. "We don't know what we'd do if anything happened to you. You mean the world to us."

Pyrus nodded. "I know…I will… You be careful, alright?" he asked, getting a nod. "Alright, Ember, let's go."

"Hey, can you two maybe carry me?" asked Delilah, a determined look on her face. "I want to help fight, but I can't fly…"

Pyrus and Ember looked to one another and then nodded. "Sure…" replied Ember. "But… You're not immortal anymore… You could really die."

Delilah gave a scoff at this. "Eh, who wants to live forever?" asked Delilah, just brushing it off. "It's much more of a rush when there's real danger involved! Besides, I'm not about to let a little thing like life threatening danger come between me and helping my friends!"

Pyrus gave a nod. "Alright… Let's go!"

Sparx watched Pyrus and Ember carry Delilah off into battle then looked to his parents. "Mom… Dad… I know I'm not tough or anything… But Spyro might need me… Someone has to watch out for him, you know?"

Nina and Flash both nodded. "We know, Sparx. We wouldn't have it any other way," said Flash, putting a hand on Sparx's shoulder.

"We know it's dangerous, but it feels much better to have our boys together so they can watch out for each other," said Nina, smiling and giving Sparx a kiss on the head. "Just be careful, and watch out for your brother, ok?"

Sparx nodded. "You can count on it," he said, getting a hug from his parents before flying off after them.

"Commander Khione," called Deadlock's ice head.

The calm, collected Naga Commander slithered up and bowed before her queen. "Your majesty, I'm sorry for leaving my post, but when all this happened, I had to see what was going on."

"Do not trouble yourself, Commander," said the electric head, smiling. "We're glad you did."

"Commander Khione, we are too injured to lead the Naga into this battle ourselves," explained the ice head. "So you lead them in our stead, do all you can to stop the Hydra, understood?" she asked in a serious, but kind tone.

Khione nodded. "Understood, my queen," she stated, rising and slithering off to her duty.

* * *

The group flew swiftly after the Hydra and the path of destruction she left in her wake. A several mile wide trench was left in the ground behind her and gigantic craters all over the surroundings as they entered the Amber Desert. The Naga pursuing her opened fire with arrows and catapults in massive numbers. Still, all they fired bounced off the Hydra's thick hide and didn't even draw her attention. "If that thing reaches the Dragon Realms, it could destroy everything!" yelled Cynder, terror clear in her voice at the thought. It didn't help a fireball from the Hydra flew into the distance and obliterated an entire mountain in one shot.

Spyro nodded. "Alright, everyone, let's go!" he called, diving in. The entire group let loose with their elemental attacks, Delilah with an onslaught of blue flames from her tails. The attacks dotted the monster's hide as they flew over, but didn't even attract her attention at all, nor did the continuous onslaught of weapon fire the Naga bombarded the creature with.

"Well that didn't work," stated Sparx in a deadpan voice. "What now?"

"Aim for the eyes and mouth!" suggested Ember, thinking back to their past fights. "It worked with Tyrania!"

Cynder nodded. "Good idea," she replied, leading the group over the heads. They once more sent a barrage of elemental breaths and fox fire into the creature's heads, this time concentrating fire on her eyes and even sending a barrage into her mouths at one point. Unlike Tyrania, the creature merely snarled, the mass of tentacles around her heads batting around, trying to strike the dragons and bat them away as mere irritants.

Retreating to a safe distance, the group looked over the gigantic beast. "That didn't even make it flinch!" said Pyrus in a surprised tone, his eyes wide.

"Let's try our Convexity Breath and Ember's Blue Fire," said Cynder, her lips curling back in a snarl. "Right down it's throat."

The group nodded, flying ahead of the Hydra, Spyro, Cynder, and Ember charging up their attacks and taking aim at the central head's gapping mouth. They let loose a triple strike of purple energy and blue flames right into her maul as she let out a roar. A massive explosion occurred and smoke poured from her mouth… But she merely waded through the smoke unharmed, forcing the dragons to dive out of the way of a fireball from her mouth which blew up a mountain in the distance.

The gang regrouped, watching the Naga open fire once more on the monster, but still their attacks did nothing. "Nothing… It just shrugged it off," said Spyro in complete disbelief. Even Empress Tyrania had been severely wounded when they'd shot down her throat, this thing didn't even flinch!

"Why isn't it even trying to attack us?" asked Ember, a suspicious look in her face and tone. "General Grendel is in control of it. That meanie must've have seen us!"

"Simple," said Demi, looking down at the Hydra as she continued on, plowing through and completely demolishing the temple the Moon Crystal had been stolen from without even slowing down. "He knows we can't stop him."

"I hate to say it, but I think you're right," admitted Cynder in a grim tone, her hope beginning to falter. "Not even firing into it's eyes or mouth so much as hurt it. It's just like the Destroyer, nothing short of a flash flood will slow it down. There's not many other weaknesses I can think of to attack. And at this rate, it'll be at the Dragon Realms by nightfall… And when it gets there, it will destroy everything…"

"Hey Spyro," said Sparx, after a few seconds of silence. "Didn't that creepy Naga say something about how to stop this thing?" he asked, scratching his head.

Spyro grasped as he remember. "That's right! Kage said that we need to separate the two Jewels and that 'Behind the true eyes of the beast lay the key to it all.' We might still have a chance!"

"But which eyes are the true ones?" asked Cynder, looking over the seven headed monstrosity. "It's got fourteen of them."

"The one with the green eyes," said Delilah in a perfectly normal tone. That statement caused everyone to look at her in confusion. "What? It's the only one with _green_ eyes. When you're looking for something like that, target the one who seems different from the rest!"

"At this point, I think we should listen to her," said Sparx, hovering nearby.

"Alright…" said Cynder, blinking in confusion for a second. "She has a point, but what should we do? We already tried firing into those eyes."

"It said behind the true eyes… Maybe we need to get behind it's true eyes?" suggested Ember in an unsure tone.

"Well… She was right about letting Tyrania eat us," said Cynder, thinking back. "It's worth a shot, we've got nothing to lose at this point."

Spyro nodded, looking back. "Alright, let's do it," he stated, flying down to Commander Khione. "We need you to concentrate on the green eyes, we think if we can get inside that head through the eyes, we may be able to defeat it."

Khione listened intently and nodded. "We will do as you request," she replied, turning and alerting the Naga to this plan and directing their fire to the correct location.

The group flew around, getting ahead of the massive behemoth and charging forwards towards the green "true" eyes. Seeing this, the Hydra actually made an effort to attack them with her tentacles. "It's attacking! We've got to be right!" yelled Spyro, realizing Grendel would only do such a thing if they _were_ right. The dragons weaved through the tentacles sent after them, Delilah at one point leaping down and running along a tentacle to avoid attack before leaping back into Ember and Pyrus' grasp afterwards. The Naga began opening fire, aiming directly at her eyes and bombarding them with their full arsenal that could reach.

"Alright, now!" yelled Spyro, he and Cynder linking paws and performing a Convexity Comet Dash while Demi surrounded herself in a boulder. Delilah nodded to Ember and Pyrus, leaping off and landing on the Hydra's nose, running along it as they both formed a Comet Dash. The Naga ceased fire as this happened, the Dragons slammed hard into the center of the eye, triggering a large explosion and tearing straight through it into the interior. Delilah jumped through the hole after them, Sparx flying straight through after her. The Hydra suddenly stopped her counterattack as they entered her body and continued her path of destruction.

* * *

Spyro and company groaned, getting to their feet. "Yuck! I'm covered in eye goop!" yelled Sparx, looking himself over as he was covered in fluid from the eye. The rest of the group were likewise disgusted to find themselves in the same condition and shook themselves off quickly as possible.

Spyro shook himself off, looking around. They were in a large chamber behind the eye itself, a large hole in a nearby "wall", if it could be called that. As was to be expected, the room was made of dark red flesh with pulsing veins throughout, but surprisingly empty. Still, Spyro couldn't help but be a little creeped out by the organic room.

"Go through the hole," said Delilah. "That's probably the optic nerve, which leads to the brain. Whatever is being used to control it is probably there."

"And if not," said Cynder, surprised by Delilah's know-how of this topic but glad for it. "We can blow up this head's brain and hopefully disable it."

* * *

Commander Khione watched the Hydra plow forwards from the frontline. "They've gotten into the beast's body, but we must slow the Hydra down so they can end this. If it reaches the Dragon Realms, it will obliterate everything in it's path and cause heavy casualties regardless of rather the Hydra is beaten or not," she said in her normal calm, cool manner. "It's scales are too durable to penetrate… But maybe there's another way to slow it down…" she stated, a thoughtful tone in her voice. "Have a group come with me to Iron Canyon, we'll set a trap for it there. With any luck, it'll work and hold the beast in place long enough for them to vanquish it," she continued in her normal thoughtful tone. "And hurry, we must get there before it does."

* * *

They came out into a large room in the center of the Hydra's skull, which was a massive chamber made entirely of bone with only some pulsing blood vessels visible in certain places. No brain was inside, but a massive bone shell protruded from the opposite wall, nerves and blood vessels extending out from it in all directions into the skull. "Well well, so you've found me," said Grendel's voice, coming from inside of the shell.

"Why are you doing this Grendel?" asked Cynder, giving a snarl. "This grudge of yours, why is it so important to you?"

"Simple. Ever sense I was a child, my mother had told me the stories of what happened all those centuries ago. We were once the greatest warrior race the world had ever seen! The entire known world quaked before us! We were so close to ruling it all!… Then we were defeated so decisively by the Dragons that they gained the right to banish us from the known world! For my entire life the thought of that ancient defeat has eaten away at me! The disgrace to our mighty race you Dragons dealt us!" yelled Grendel, fury in his voice. "But fortune smiled upon me. I learned of the Sun and Moon Jewels and the power they possessed. I decided to claim the power of the Hydra as my own, and now that I have; I will use this magnificent beast to lay waste to all who oppose me! The Dragon Realms will be wiped from the face of the earth so thoroughly that no one will believe they ever existed!"

"It doesn't have to be like this, Grendel!" replied Pyrus, a serious tone in his voice. "That happened a long time ago! Forget the past! Can't you see how foolish this all is? Let it go! There's still a chance for peace!"

"Peace?" asked Grendel in a hateful tone, as if there was no other word in the world he hated more. "I know nothing of peace! Where you see mercy, I see pity! I see a great race made a laughing stock! A race of warriors forced to swallow their pride and leave their homes! I'd rather die than suffer the mercy of my enemies! If a warrior is unable to fight, he is better off dead!" he shouted, his tone dead serious. "The Dragons turned a race of warriors into common farmers and fishermen! Our once proud race has forgotten our warrior roots and what we once stood for because of you infernal dragons! Your banishment has disgraced and ruined us! That's why I'm doing this!" he roared in fury. "Nothing else matters to me! My revenge on your race for disgracing mine is the only thing I care about! The thing I've spent my entire life working towards! I will inflict on your race the same they inflicted on mine! Crushing ruinous defeat!" he yelled as a mass of black tentacles unraveled around the shell that protected Grendel, lashing out and forcing the group to dodge. "And when I'm finished, the Dragons will beg me for mercy, but I'll have the decency to grant them a warrior's end!"

"Dude, that's the second craziest justification for genocide I've ever heard!" said Delilah as she jumped out of the way of several tentacles.

"Second?" asked Sparx, blinking in confusion.

"Trust me, villains have some nuts justifications for what they do," said Delilah, not taking her eyes off Grendel or breaking her battle stance. "But this one is pretty high up there."

Cynder leapt out of the way, weaving narrowing through the tentacles before engulfing her tail in poison and severing several tentacles in a flurry, only to have to dodge even more. Spyro flew in, swinging an ice blade on his tail and slicing through the attacking tendrils, aiding Cynder in cleaving through them. But they just kept coming.

Ember and Pyrus stood side by side, using their fire breath to fry the incoming tentacles to ashes. Demi blasted several heading her way with an Earth Shot before grabbing one in her mouth and ripping it right out of the wall with a show of strength. "Delilah! Can't you phase through that thing and attack Grendel?" asked Pyrus, before using a Fire Bomb to blow another surge of tentacles to bits of blazing flesh.

Delilah shook her head, blasting back her own attackers with a burst of fox fire. "This room is completely natural! I can't phase through bone!"

* * *

Khione watched as the Naga began preparing for her plan, grabbing any iron ore they could find and setting it in huge pots to be melted down. She turned to look at the approaching Hydra as she sent fireballs flying widely in all directions, destroying indiscriminately and without mercy as the Naga army continued pelting her with everything they had. "Such a terrible beast… This is why the ancient Naga deemed it needed to seal away the jewels for all time…" Khione stated, turning back to the Naga working with her. "Hurry! We're running short on time! The Hydra will be here soon!"

* * *

Soon the tentacles all laid torn, sliced, or blown to bits on the floor and no more took their place. Grendel gave a sigh within his shell at this fact. "I guess it's true what they say! If you want something done right…" he started, the shell suddenly splitting open down the middle. The Naga General emerged from the shell, slithering forwards with a smug smirk. "Do it yourself."

"We beat you once, Grendel!" yelled Cynder, taking a battle stance. Something unnerved her about Grendel now. His appearance looked no different on the surface, but something seemed… Off about him. It seemed like his body had changed so subtly she could tell it changed but not _how_ it had. It kind of looked like his skin was a bit too tight on him or something. It was… Unnerving. Cynder shook her head to rid herself of the unease and looked back to Grendel. "We'll do it again!"

Grendel chuckled. "You 'beat' me because I still needed to follow Deadlock's orders at the time. I wasn't fighting at full strength. And even if I was; the power of the Spirit of War lays within me. My power is unimaginable," he stated, his voice confident. "No one, not even the Purple Dragon of Legend, is a match for me now. I will crush you like insects," he continued, giving a smirk. "And the Dragon Realms shall follow."

Spyro snarled, getting in a battle position, tail lashing wildly. "Bring it!"

Delilah nodded. "To quote a friend of mine; it is ON!" she yelled, getting ready for battle, tails lifted and poised to make her look larger than she was.

Grendel chuckled. "You think so?" he asked, taking a battle stance. "Crushing ruinous defeat, that is what awaits you," he stated, getting a serious look on his face before swinging his tail around and trying to strike Pyrus with it. The young Fire Dragon leapt out of the way and replied with a burst of fire, which Grendel stopped easily with one hand. Cynder leapt forwards, trying to slash Grendel several times. While she managed to slice into his skin, the cuts sealed up almost instantly as the massive Naga caught her legs and swung her around, launching her right into Pyrus. Ember tried her luck, slamming full force into his chest in a Comet Dash and actually managing to force him backwards a bit before he grabbed her legs, one with each of his four arms and threw her across the ground savagely.

Demi charged forwards, attempting to ram Grendel with her head. The Naga General simply caught her charge with one arm and punched her halfway across the chamber with another other. Spyro snarled and bombarded Grendel with Fire Bombs, but the massive Naga barely flinched at the attack. He swung his tail around and tried to slam it down on top of Spyro, but the Purple Dragon leapt out of the way and blasted Grendel in the face with a bolt of lightning. Grendel merely brushed off his face where the bolt hit him and chuckled, much to Spyro's shock.

"Nice try," said Grendel, smirking smugly. "I think that's enough warm up," he stated, giving a chuckle. "Time for the real fight to start."

"Warm up?" asked Sparx, jaw dropping. "That was a warm up?"

"Let me show you the true power the Hydra has given me," said Grendel, closing his eyes. Suddenly, eyes opened on each of his hands as the skin on his arms split open, snake-like heads and necks resembling the Hydra's own with glowing red eyes bursting free of the dead skin. His own head and neck erupted upwards, skin tearing off as his head took on a similar shape to his arms, though retained his skull helmet. His skin flaked off, revealing pitch-black scales underneath as a row of spikes burst out of his skin running down his back. Spyro watched in shock at Grendel's transformation before he was struck by five fireballs, one from each mouth, and blasted backwards across the room with great force.

Sparx let out a scream. "Whoa! That's like the third freakiest thing I've ever seen! And I've seen a lot of freaky stuff!… Great, now_ I'm _sounding like Delilah!"

Delilah, taking advantage of the distraction, leapt on his back and slashed away, then lifted her tails and used her fox fire pointblank, blasting him repeatedly. Grendel cringed slightly but replied by using his long necks to reach around and bite into her, causing her to scream in pain before hurling her away with the greatest ease.

Pyrus and Ember spat Fire Bombs at Grendel, but he replied with fireballs, detonating the Fire Bombs in midair before a second barrage blasted the two Fire Dragons off their feet with great force. Demi suddenly rammed horns first into Grendel's stomach with all the force she could manage, but barely managed to force him back an inch before his five mouths seized her, hoisted her into the air, and slammed her back into the ground with a good bit of force.

Spyro and Cynder reentered the battle, letting loose with Fire and Poison Breath on Grendel's front, only for Grendel to withstand it with little more than a snarl. He replied with waves of fireballs from his five heads. While they dodged several, there were simply too many and they were struck repeatedly, blasting them backwards against the wall on the other side of the room.. Ember and Pyrus recovered and flew in once more, blasting Grendel full force in the main head and chest with their fire breath. The mutated Naga's hydra heads launched through the flames and bit down on both, drawing blood before throwing them into the still rising Spyro and Cynder, knocking all four down. Demi used the distraction to sneak around behind Grendel and bite down on his tail, trying to throw him with all her strength, but getting swung around herself by Grendel's tail and thrown a good distance, blasted across the ground by fireballs afterwards.

Delilah leapt up on Grendel's chest and blasted him point blank with fox fire. Grendel merely laughed and bit down on her legs, getting a cry of pain. Grendel swung his main head forwards and head butted the Kitsune a good distance. He then spun around and blasted the rest of the group back with his fireballs as one of his heads caught them trying to attack him from behind, knocking them nearly clear across the room. "I haven't had this much fun in ages!" hissed the sinister Naga. "I must admit, the thought of spending this entire trek to the Dragon Realms with nothing to do was quite dull, I'm very glad you've come to liven things up!" he yelled, spurting five fireballs straight at the group and throwing them against the wall hard. "Come on now! You can do better than that!"

Spyro and Cynder recovered and flew in, linking paws and forming a Convexity Comet Dash around themselves and flying forwards, slamming into Grendel's chest and forcing him back slightly. The mutated Naga snaked his four extra heads around, forcing through the energy of the attack and biting into them both, drawing blood before rearing back and firing blasting them both away with a fireball from his main head. Ember reentered the fray and let out a burst of her Heat Breath right at Grendel. The monstrous Naga stood unharmed through the attack, though several bits of his armor were torn off. Ignoring his now red hot and slightly melted armor, Grendel replied with a barrage of fireballs. Ember tried to protect herself with a shield of heat but was easily overpowered and blasted across the ground.

Demi ran up and swung an Earth Flail around and smashed it against Grendel's main head repeatedly but did little except annoy him. Grendel's eyes turned blue and he fired a beam of blue energy from his mouth, levitating Demi into the air and slamming her into the wall before tossing her across the chamber with the greatest of ease.

Spyro reentered the fight and blasted Grendel from behind with an onslaught of Earth Missiles. Before he could launch another salvo, one of Grendel's heads snaked around and caught him with its energy beam, lifting him off the ground and swinging him overhead, throwing him into the rising Ember. Cynder flew in afterwards, firing several Wind Spheres into Grendel's heads and chest, followed with a Wind Cutter. While the cutter managed to slice a deep gash into Grendel's chest, the wound healed up almost instantly, allowing Grendel to catch Cynder out of the air with his energy ray and hurl her into Spyro and Ember with a good bit of force.

Spyro and Cynder groaned, getting to their feet along with Ember. They looked to Ember and all three nodded. "Everyone, distract him," ordered Cynder. "We've got an idea."

The others nodded before Pyrus and Demi flew forwards, launching Fire Bombs and Earth Missiles into his face and chest. Grendel snarled and launched out two more of the blue energy beams, ensnaring them with the strange energy and slamming them into one another before throwing them away. Delilah charged in quickly, leaping up and slashing his main face repeatedly. Grendel replied by his eyes turning back to red and then blasting her point blank with his fireballs and launching her across the room and into the wall on the opposite side.

However, as Grendel turned his attention back to Spyro, Cynder, and Ember, he was greeted by twin Convexity Breaths and Ember's Blue Fire. The massive Naga was launched backwards with great force, slamming hard into the wall on the opposite side of the room and causing a large cloud of smoke.

Spyro, Cynder, and Ember panted heavily from use of their attacks. "Did it work?" asked Pyrus, coming over and standing next to Ember, Demi and Delilah joining them.

"I think so…" said Cynder, eying the cloud of smoke cautiously.

Suddenly, an onslaught of fireballs burst out of the smoke, blasting the group in all directions and crashing to the ground hard. Grendel laughed as he emerged unharmed from the smoke. The armor had been blown off his chest, but his skin and body were completely unharmed. A soft blue and orange glow glowed in his chest, just below the skin. "Don't you get it yet?" asked Grendel, all five heads speaking at once. "Me and the Hydra are one! We're _both _unstoppable! So long as the Hydra draws breath, I'm immortal!" he yelled, letting loose a barrage of fireballs, blowing the group across the room and hard into the wall on the other side. His eyes changed to blue before he grab Spyro, Demi, Cynder, Ember, and Pyrus with one of the strange blue energy rays each and swinging them around, smashing them into each other and anything he could find before throwing them away. Delilah's attempt to sneak up on him as he did so was met with a powerful smash of his tail, then grabbing her with the blue energy ray and smashing her into the others. "Come on, you've got to do better than that!"

Cynder groaned, getting shakily to her feet. "He's right… Not even our Convexity Breath so much as stunned him, even with Ember's Blue Fire helping."

Spyro growled, getting up. "Let's see if this does anything," he snarled, charging forwards and dodging fireballs as they bombarded him. He leapt into the air, charging up his Convexity Breath and landing on Grendel's chest, forcing the mutated Naga's main mouth open and letting loose the powerful bolt of Convexity straight down his throat. Grendel let out a roar of pain as an explosion went off inside his body and smoke billowed out of his throat, causing Spyro to smirk… Until Grendel's five heads started laughing.

"I told you, I'm immortal!" replied Grendel as his eyes changed back to red. He let loose a fireball pointblank and launching Spyro back, knocking the entire group to the ground.

"Spyro, are you alright?" asked Cynder, helping him to his feet as she got up herself. "It… It didn't even hurt him at all…" she muttered with complete disbelief in her voice.

"I hate to be the one to say it," said Sparx, flying over. "But I think we're totally screwed…"

Spyro nodded grimly, struggling to his feet, his body hurting and fatigue beginning to set in. He looked at Grendel and gasped, seeing the glow in the center of his chest. "That glow…" he muttered, remembering his dream, the colors of the crystals he'd seen. "Everyone! I think the Jewels are in his chest!" he stated, keeping at a whisper so Grendel couldn't hear.

"Remember what Kage said? Separating the Jewels is the only way to stop the Hydra. And Grendel just said he and the Hydra were one and the same," said Pyrus with a gasp of realization. "So separating them must be the only way to can stop him."

"Good to know," whispered Cynder, seeing the dimly glowing jewels underneath Grendel's skin. "But we've hit him with everything we've got. Nothing phases him long enough for us to get in and get to them," she stated, the group having to dodge as Grendel let loose a barrage of fireballs at them. The immortal Naga then used the blue energy beams to grab Demi and slam her into the others.

Spyro gave some thought as he stood up with a groan, everyone battered and bruised from Grendel's attack. He thought over everything he'd ever done, every attack he knew, trying to find something that could at least keep Grendel down long enough for the others to bring Grendel down. Nothing they'd done up until now had so much as slowed Grendel down…

"_Now its time to unleash the true dragon within you…"_ said Ignitus' voice in his head.

Spyro gasped, looking around. _"Ignitus? Was that really him?"_ he thought, time seeming to slow down as he thought. "_Or was that… A memory? I remember the last time I heard that it was…"_ he continued to think, memory wandering back to Convexity, the one time before he'd heard that said to him. Spyro nodded. "Alright, Ignitus… I think I know what you want me to do…" he whispered to himself as he got a serious look.

"Guys, I think I know what to do… If it doesn't work, we're finished," said Spyro, serious in tone and voice. "But we don't really have anything else we can do at this point."

"I don't think we've got much of a choice but to try something," said Cynder, getting back to her feet and watching Grendel looking at them smugly, confident he was unbeatable. She hated to admit it, but if Spyro's last ditch gambit didn't work, he really was unstoppable. She couldn't think of anything else they could hit him with that hadn't already failed completely. "But the rest of us had better keep him busy while you do it. I know you won't let us down, Spyro" she said, giving Spyro a nuzzle. "Let's go."

The group nodded at once. The others all charged while Spyro remained behind, beginning to concentrate as hard as he could. Cynder flew past Grendel's main head, slashing him with her tail and causing a small cut which instantly sealed up. As he brought up his tail and slammed Cynder out of the air with it, Demi charged forwards and slammed head first into his back, driving him forwards. With a snarl, he whipped around and bit into her, picking her up and throwing her aside. Pyrus and Ember flew by, blasting him with their fire breath, doing little more than annoy the immortal Naga. Grendel retaliated by snatching them out of the air with his blue energy rays and swinging them down to the ground. Delilah then leapt forwards and let loose a barrage of foxfire point blank into Grendel's chest and heads. Annoyed, Grendel swung his tail around, nearly hitting her but the Kitsune leapt over it, only for the jaws of one of his heads to clamp down around her. Cynder flew in and sent her shadow to slam into Grendel's back, managing to attract Grendel's attention and making him drop Delilah.

Spyro concentrated, digging his claws into the bony floor. Purple energy began to surge into his body then dispersed. "Come on…" he said, concentrating harder, trying to remember how he'd done this 12 years before. "I have to do this…" he said, watching Cynder be grabbed by one of Grendel's heads and hurled across the room into a wall. Demi leapt on Grendel's back and smashed him repeatedly with her tail before being headbutted off by one of his heads. "If I don't, we're done for… The Dragon Realms are done for… Everyone will die… Both there and at Serpent's Edge…" he said, struggling as more purple energy began to form in him as Pyrus and Ember were both blasted away by Grendel.

* * *

Khione waited with a group of Naga for the massive juggernaut that approached. They stood far from the edge of the canyon, as the monster's width exceeded that and she would most certainly tear her way through the canyon with ease. Sure enough, the Hydra began doing just that. "Wait for it…" said Khione to Naga holding large pots of molten iron over the sides, maneuvering them into place along side the Hydra. "Now!" she called, the molten metal being poured down the canyon wall and onto the sides of the monstrous abomination. Others poured waves of molten iron from larger pots in front of the beast, covering the Hydra's chest and the ground before her. Khione's used a pillar of ice to get up high enough before her tattoos lit up brightly and she fired a powerful blizzard-like wave of air, rapidly cooling the metal into solid iron to hold the monster in place, the pouring iron before the Hydra forming a wall of solid metal to block her path. Khione struggled, putting all her power into her attack to form a layer of ice over the beast's massive back to secure her to the ground as best she could along with the metal. For once, they actually halted the beast in her tracks as she squirmed and struggled to break free.

* * *

The group minus Spyro surrounded Grendel and pelted him with their attacks relentlessly from all sides. Grendel concentrated, letting off a blue energy wave the levitated his attackers into the air as if there was no gravity at all. He then concentrated fiery energy into his body and letting out a massive shockwave of heat and fire, throwing his opponents harshly in all directions, slamming against the walls and the ground with a good bit of force. Grendel surveyed his surroundings, seeing Cynder, Ember, Demi, Pyrus, and Delilah struggling to rise from their feet, having been hit hard by his attacks. "I guess you couldn't take the heat, could you? Now, where's that little purple one at?" asked the vile Naga with a smirk. He then gasped in confusion as he realized something. "The Hydra stopped?" he asked, looking through her eyes. "Those blasted Naga…" he muttered, concentrating on commanding his behemoth.

With Grendel distracted, Spyro concentrated harder than ever, digging his claws into the ground and summoning all his strength. He finally drew a massive amount of purple energy into himself and began to glow brightly.

* * *

With a massive push, the Hydra broke free of her entrapment, shattering iron and ice like tissue paper and plowing through the Iron Canyon unopposed, the sudden surge forward killing or wounding many Naga in the process. Khione panted as she got back up, exhausted from the massive at amount of energy she'd utilize in her attack. "My Prince, you and your friends must finish this…" she panted, watching the Hydra surge forwards with the Naga Commander unable to help any further, forcing the army to once more open fire and try in vain to stop it.

Grendel smirked. "There, sorry for the delay, hatchlings," he stated smugly. "I just had to finish up with the last real pain in the neck I had to deal with. Now back to the fun part!" he stated, cracking his five necks.

"Not quite, pal," said Sparx, pointing behind him.

"Huh?" asked Grendel in a confused tone, turning to see purple energy swirling out of Spyro into the air before him. A purple energy rift began to tear open in the air with a thunderous roar like a great wind. "What is that?" asked the immortal Naga in surprise.

As this happened, Cynder groaned, managing to get back to a standing position along with the others. Her eyes then widened, memories surging back. She'd only seen Spyro do this once before…

* * *

**Flashback**

Dark Cynder hovered weakly before Spyro, the alien void of Convexity surrounding them, her body weak from the onslaught of purple energy she'd already endured. Suddenly, energy began to come off Spyro, into the air before him. With a great roar, a portal of purple energy tore open and a multitude of dragon head-shaped energy blasts erupted out straight for her.

**Flashback Over**

* * *

"Its… Its the same attack he used to defeat me!" exclaimed the startled Black Dragoness in complete shock.

Sparx's jaw dropped. "I didn't even know he could still _do_ that!"

Cynder then noticed that Grendel was startled as the attack began. "Everyone! We've got to make sure this works! Hit him everything you've got! Don't give him time to heal at all!" she yelled, beginning to concentrate, surrounding herself in a swirling mass of poison, deciding to use the attack that would cause the most overall damage she could. The others nodded and concentrated, Ember beginning to glow with a blue aura, Pyrus' tattoo lighting up brightly and a frigid aura surrounding him, and Demi being surrounded by a bright green aura and floating into the air along with Pyrus and Cynder.

Cynder let loose her Poison Fury, blasting the momentarily stunned Grendel first with a wave of purple venom and then a wave of green poison, stunning him further and the poison's touch beginning to burn his flesh. Before Grendel could even react to that attack, Ember followed up with a stream of Blue Fire, striking the immortal Naga right in the face and chest, triggering a large explosion of azure flames, Delilah firing away next to the Pink Dragoness with her Fox Fire. The fire from the impact hadn't even cleared before Grendel was buffeted by massive exploding boulders from Demi's Earth Fury, hammering him repeatedly moments prior to a powerful wave of cold from Pyrus' Ice Fury struck him full force, freezing him in a huge pillar of ice. Finally, Spyro's eyes snapped open right as the Ice Fury ended and the portal let loose a multitude of purple energy blasts in the shape of dragon heads straight at the frozen Grendel.

General Grendel's eyes went wide as the first barrage struck him with enough force to tear him out of the ice and lift him into the air where he was assaulted relentlessly from all sides, finally getting a scream of agony from the immortal Naga. The barrage continued relentlessly from all directions as the blasts flew through him and came back around at high speeds to strike him once again so quickly it left him no time for his body to regenerate from the compounded damage of the unrelenting onslaught he'd been subjected to. _"This isn't possible! My body… I'm being injured too quickly for it to regenerate!"_ thought Grendel in complete shock as the attacks kept coming and damaging his body.

Finally, the portal and the energy faded and Spyro collapsed to his knees panting heavily, every ounce of energy he'd had left depleted by his attack. General Grendel fell to the ground hard on his back in complete agony, his body struggling to heal the damage from the all-out assault the six heroes had dealt him.

"Now!" yelled Cynder, she and the others forcing their tired and injured bodies into action and leaping on Grendel. While Pyrus froze his arms and tail to the ground, Cynder drove her tail into Grendel's chest, getting a roar of agony from the immortal Naga as she cut into it, Demi using her great strength to hold the skin and muscle back with Ember using their fire breath to cauterize the wound and slow down Grendel's regeneration, Pyrus soon joining her. Delilah and Cynder quickly grabbed the exposed Sun and Moon Jewels inside Grendel's chest and pulled. Grendel roared in agony as they did this, struggling but held down by the ice and still weak from the barrage of powerful attacks he'd been subjected to.

Grendel finally managed to break free and throw the group away, but it was too late. His chest sealed up, but he saw clutched in Cynder and Delilah's hands the source of his power. "No! Stop!" he screamed as they pulled the two jewels apart with a flash of energy.

* * *

The Hydra had just torn straight through the Iron Canyon in spite of the Naga army's best efforts, widening it significantly simply by ripping the rock apart in her rampage, the once beautiful area utterly devastated by her unstoppable power. Suddenly, as the jewels were pulled apart, the beast stopped in her tracks. Letting out a long roar, the Hydra's eyes went black, her body turning gray and beginning to crumble to dust. The Naga army were silent for a few moments, before letting out a victorious cheer. Khione gave a calm, but tired smile. "They did it…"

The group hovered in the air as the Hydra disintegrated around them, Pyrus and Ember holding Delilah aloft. "We did it…" said Spyro in a weak, exhausted voice. He nearly fell out of the sky before Demi and Cynder caught him and held him as they flew.

"That was so awesome!" yelled Ember in an extremely excited voice. "Spyro, that was… I don't even know how to describe that! It was so amazing! I didn't even know you could do that!"

"Spyro… That was…" said Cynder, surprise in her face and voice as they slowly descended to the ground.

Spyro nodded. "A Convexity Fury… The same thing I used 12 years ago to defeat Dark Cynder…" he said, fatigue plain as day in his voice, barely able to lift his head to look at his mate.

Cynder nodded in a bit of shock. "I remember; it took you so much power to beat me that you couldn't use _any_ of your elements for a long time. I didn't even know you could do it again."

Spyro gave a tired nod. "I know, I didn't either. But I heard Ignitus' voice in my head… He said it was time to awaken the true dragon within me… 12 years ago I heard the exact same thing when I used it the first time," he explained, giving a small smile. "I'm pretty sure that's what he wanted me to do…" he said, feeling so warn out talking was a chore.

Cynder nodded. "I think you're right… Just rest now, we won," she stated, giving him a nuzzle as their feet touched solid ground and she let him lean against her when he proved too tired to stand unaided.

"I got to see a Convexity Fury! That's… That's just so awesome!" Ember exclaimed in excitement, having not really heard anything that was just said in her glee.

Delilah chuckled. "You sound like a friend of mine after her idols let her hang with them at a party… It didn't turn out as she thought thanks to other fangirls, but it still got her really excited," she recounted with a smirk.

"Got it, big attack is a last resort because it's all or nothing and Ember is still a squeeing fangirl," said Sparx. "Now shouldn't we be paying attention to that?" he asked, pointing to Grendel crawling his way out of the ashes, reverted back to his normal form.

Grendel was barely alive, but rose up, fury and hatred in his eyes. "You may have stopped my plans for the Dragon Realms," he said, pulling out his sword. "But I'll still have my revenge on you!" he yelled, charging forwards at full speed, aiming a slash at Spyro's head.

Cynder snarled, swinging her poison coated tail blade around. In a flash, half of Grendel's sword flew threw the air, embedding itself in the ground nearby as Cynder stopped her blade inches from the insidious Naga General's throat, anger clear in her eyes as she glared at him. Grendel's eyes widened as he stared at the blade held to his throat. "… Do it," he said simply, glaring back at her. "Go ahead! End it!"

"You've manipulated a heartbroken mother and your entire species, tried to destroy our homes and everyone we care about, and tried kill Spyro when he can't even defend himself!" Cynder stated, staring right into his eyes. "And you don't regret any of that, do you?"

Grendel chuckled. "Only that I didn't succeed," he said, staring down at the poison coated blade inches from his neck. "And if I could get away with it, I'd do it all over again!"

Cynder snarled fiercely, pushing her blade to his neck just enough to draw a small trickle of blood, but not enough to be fatal. Grendel cringed, but noticed he didn't feel the agony of her poison in his system. "Killing you would be easy, it really would be… But you want me to do that, don't you? You want to die a warrior at the hands of the enemy," she stated with venom in her voice… Before lowering her tail blade suddenly and stepping back as the Naga Army caught up and held the disarmed Grendel at weapon point, chaining his arms behind his back. "You don't deserve it. Instead, you're going to be dragged back to Deadlock, defeated and to be tried for your crimes like you _really_ deserve."

"Coward!" yelled Grendel, rage and fury in his face as he struggled against his captors but was restrained by even more Naga. "You're a coward!"

Cynder looked over her shoulder at the evil Naga. "No, I'm not. Attacking someone who can't defend themselves is cowardly, you should know…" she stated bitterly before walking over to her mate and friends, nuzzling Spyro lovingly.

"General Grendel," said Commander Khione, slithering up. "You're under arrest," she said simply, giving a calm smile and bow of respect to Spyro and company, cheers from the Naga following suit.

"Thank you! Thank you all so much!" said Sparx, soaking in the cheers as if they were directed solely to him.

"Wow, so this is what it's like to have an entire race show it's admiration to you," said Delilah, looking around. "Never had that happen to me before, just seen it happen to other people. Feels kind of good."

"For once, this actually has happened to me before," said Sparx, smiling and waving. "A race of llama people worship me and Spyro as gods."

"Huh… That's weird…" replied Delilah, cocking her head in confusion.

Sparx just sighed and shook his head at this. "Of course… You'd consider _that_ weird…"

* * *

Grendel was drug back to Serpent's Edge by the Naga army and held before Deadlock. The villainous Naga kept his head down in shame, his arms still chained behind his back. Deadlock stood bandaged, favoring her left front leg, but still standing tall over the accused.

"General Grendel. You stand accused of defying your queen, threatening your own race with destruction, and attempting genocide on a race the Naga are prepared to make peace with along with other very serious war crimes," said Deadlock's ice head, all three glaring straight at her traitorous _former_ second-in-command after Spyro's group had fully explained to her the events that had taken place inside the Hydra. "How do you plea?"

Grendel snarled. "Guilty. I don't regret what I've done. If I had another chance, the only thing I'd do different is I wouldn't lose."

Deadlock's heads looked to each other in silent conversation. They then looked back to Grendel. "Grendel, do you know what Naga law states should be your punishment?" explained the fire head.

Grendel smirked. "Death…" he replied, keeping his head down, but not caring. In fact, the idea of dying seemed a relief to him.

"You are correct," stated the electric head. "But we know you would enjoy, and if a punishment is enjoyed, it's not a punishment, now is it?"

Grendel gasped in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"We're going to do something that will truly punish you," said the electric head, looking the defeated villain in the eyes. "The very mercy you have forsaken shall now be your fate."

"No… No, you can't mean-" started Grendel, horror and shock entering his face.

"General Grendel, as queen we spare your life," interrupted the ice head, glaring down at him. "Instead, you are hereby stripped of title, rank, and power and cast forever into exile."

"E-exile?" asked Grendel in shock and disbelief before his skull helmet was ripped off his head by the Naga holding him followed by what remained of his armor, revealing a face resembling a male version of Queen Gorgon's beneath it. The skull helmet was then shattered to bits beneath Deadlock's foot before his eyes. "No! Anything but exile!" he demanded as the Naga forced him down and used a hot needle to mark his head with a blood red clover. They then did the same to each of his hands.

Pyrus looked to his friends. "Those tattoos marks Grendel as an exile who must never be permitted to return," he explained, watching the ritual.

As Grendel was marked, Deadlock turned to Commander Khione. "Commander Khione, for your bravery and service against Grendel's genocidal ambitions, we reward you with his position," said the ice head, smiling to her loyal Commander. "Congratulations, General Khione."

Khione bowed honorably. "It is an honor, your majesty. I will not let you down."

Deadlock turned back to Grendel, whose tattooing had been finished and now looked on at his previous status was given to the one who had played a role in his defeat. "You are banished to Dutchman's Isle for the rest of your days," stated the electric head. "Take him away."

"You can't do this to me!" Grendel roared in fury as he was let up and lead way. "I'd rather die than be cast out as a disgrace! Do you hear me? I would rather _die! _I would rather die!"

"You made your bed, Grendel," stated Deadlock's fire head simply. "Now lay in it."

"Dutchman's Isle?" asked Cynder, letting the exhausted Spyro lean against her, her mate barely able to lift his head from exhaustion.

"An island several hundred miles offshore," explained Deadlock's ice head, watching Grendel be lead away in chains and disgrace. "It's hospitable, but uninhabited. If Grendel thinks the Dragons' act of mercy all those centuries ago was wrong, then we will show him the same. Grendel is one so consumed by his own revenge that the very concept of forgiveness and mercy is utterly alien and appalling to him… Thank the Ancestors we didn't go that far…"

Pyrus nodded, nuzzling his mother. "Mom… Now that Grendel has been defeated, we should check on Cyros…"

Deadlock gave a sigh and nodded. "Yes… Let's see her…" said the electric head, though there was hidden dread in her voice at the condition she may be in.

As Deadlock lead the group into Serpent's Edge, Ember worked her way up beside Pyrus and walked next to him closely... Just in case the worst awaited them ahead.

* * *

Deadlock lead the group into the chamber where Cyros had been left. Pyrus saw Kage kneeling next to Cyros, hiding most of her but he could see her head was up and looking at the Naga tending to her, though her face couldn't be seen. Still, Pyrus smiled knowing she was awake…. Until Kage moved out of the way, revealing his sister's back. Pyrus' face and heart fell as his eyes fell on the two small, bandaged stumps that were all that remained of her wings, the tips still red from the no longer bleeding wounds left behind. The ice dragoness just stared at where her wings had been, tears in her eyes and a sorrowful, heartbroken look on her face. "Cyros…" muttered Pyrus, staring horrified at his sister's back, beginning to cry himself at the sight.

Spyro and company all lowered their heads in sorrow at the sight of Cyros' amputated wings. Not one of them could manage to keep from crying at the sight, not even Delilah or Sparx. Ember put a paw on Pyrus' shoulder, trying to be of some comfort if nothing else.

"I'm sorry…" said Kage, guilt clear in his face and voice. "I did everything I could…" he lamented, looking with sorrow upon the young princess whose wings he'd had no choice but to amputate.

Deadlock's face was full of sorrow and guilt as she approached her daughter. "Cyros… We're so sorry…" said the ice head, tears forming in all their eyes and her voice cracking with despair and pain as she spoke. "This is all our fault…" she said as she looked with heartbroken eyes at her crippled daughter, who'd suffered this fate at her hands. "We're so sorry, Cyros…"

Cyros slowly looked up at her mother. "All I want is us to be a family again… Me, you, and Pyrus to be a real family again, like we used to be…" she stated, tears running down her cheeks. Her voice was hurt and broken, but had a bit of hope still there. "C-can we be like that again?"

Pyrus walked over, putting his paw on his sister's shoulder. "Yeah… Yeah we can," he said, his voice cracking as he made no attempt to hide his tears. "Right mom?" he asked solemnly.

Deadlock gave a nod. "Yes… Yes we can…" replied all three heads. "We'd like that…"

Cyros gave a sad smile. "T-then I'll be ok…" she said, sincere and loving as she could manage.

Deadlock and Pyrus carefully hugged Cyros, trying their best not to hurt her still fragile and wounded body; all three crying but for the first time in a long time, truly a family again.

Demi and Sparx looked to one another as this transpired. "Should we tell her now or wait?" asked Sparx.

Demi gave it some thought and nodded. "It's the right thing to do… I can't imagine how much she must be hurting right now…" she stated, unable to imagine what losing her wings would feel like and how horrible it must feel. "The Ancestors know she needs any comfort she can get right now."

Sparx nodded. "Yeah… Let's go."

The two came up to Cyros once the group broke their hug. "Cyros…" said Demi in a shy, timid, but serious tone, looking at the crippled Dragoness' wounded back and then struggling to stop herself from looking there.

"We know you're having a big family moment and… Well…" said Sparx awkwardly, trying not to draw attention to the fact the poor girl had just lost her wings. Even he wasn't that much of a jerk. "But we've got something important to say," he said in about the most serious tone he could imagine.

Cyros turned to look at her and Sparx, managing to stop crying. "Alright… What is it?" she asked, looking at them with her bloodshot eyes. She expected quite a few things, all of which she personally felt would be justified, but the last thing she expected were the three words she heard next.

"We forgive you."

* * *

Alright, show of hands, who thought I'd actually go through with Cyros losing her wings?... I made myself sad again... I didn't believe that she and Deadlock should get off without any lasting cost for their actions, but likewise didn't want either to die because they'd been redeemed. So I made her lose her wings. Don't worry, I promise things will get better for her.

Yeah, I know LONG chapter (longest I've EVER written) but somewhat short fight. It's really hard to write a pretty one sided battle and make it both long and enjoyable, kind of have to choose one or the other. I'm not sure that ending it with Sparx and Demi forgiving Cyros was the BEST way, but to me, it seemed the most impactful and meaningful to me.

To explain Grendel a bit, his role was to kind of be a foil to Deadlock and Cyros. All three were fueled by revenge, but he was the only one who absolutely refused to give his up. He was completely consumed by it to the point nothing more mattered. And more importantly, his role was to redeem the Naga as much as give Deadlock a chance to make up for what she did.

One final chapter to go, the epilogue so to speak. I also plan to do a sidestory featuring Cyros called "The Legend Of Spyro: A New Dawn Side Story: Broken Wings" featuring her recovery, please be on the look out for it!


	29. A New Dawn

Alright, everyone, time for the final chapter! You know, this is always the hardest part, the chapter that closes the story. I always have a lot of trouble with that one last chapter for some reason. Though in this case, I'm free to leave some loose ends for the sequel. Also, the song in this chapter was written entirely by me, but I really don't own anything else except my OCs.

Just for those who haven't seen yet, "A New Dawn Side Story: Broken Wings" is up and its first chapter takes place _before_ this chapter. Reading it is not absolutely needed to understand this chapter, but will help explain some things which aren't completely explained here and address some things. Anyway, here's the final chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**A New Dawn**

Spyro concentrated harder on his slowly building inner flame and gave a burst of fire breath, lighting a dummy in the training room aflame. "Nice job, bud. But it seems a bit weak," chimed in Sparx, watching from nearby.

Spyro gave a nod. "I know, but at this point; I'm just glad my powers are coming back quicker this time," he replied, concentrating and summoning another dummy in a flash of green magic. "A month is a lot faster than last time."

Sparx nodded with a chuckle. "And this time you didn't even need the Chronicler giving you fainting fits."

"I think we're all glad for that," said Spyro, giving a smirk before blasting the dummy with a stronger gale of flames.

Sparx looked away from Spyro and blinked. "Hey, what's with the claw marks?" he asked, referring to a series of claw marks carved into a nearby wall, as if someone had been slashing away at it.

Spyro blinked. "I don't know… They weren't there last night," he replied, looking at them in confusion. "Same number of claws as a dragon… Cyros was in here before we were, maybe she did it while training…" he continued, still a bit confused as to _why_, but given what the poor girl had been through; the fact she was training _at all_ was a good sign in his book.

"Are you sure there's not a monster or something?" asked Sparx, looking around worriedly. "It might try to eat me!"

Spyro rolled his eyes before turning back to his own training. As he'd feared, his powers had been depleted by his Convexity Fury and he'd spent the last month, give or take a few days, training to get them back. He summoned another dummy and prepared to try a Fire Bomb, but the door opened suddenly and in ran Demi. "Demi?" asked Spyro, turning from his training. "What's going on?"

"Is there a monster on the loose?" asked the now paranoid Sparx, eyes darting around suspiciously.

Demi blinked. "No…" she replied in a confused tone. She then turned to Spyro. "Your egg is getting ready to hatch!"

Spyro's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" he asked, but ran off in excitement before she could respond.

"Hey! Wait for me!" yelled Sparx, flying right after him, leaving Demi in the dust.

* * *

Cynder stood waiting next to her adopted egg patiently as it set in it's rightful place at the Dragon Temple. Already a great many of the eggs had hatched and some tiny newborn dragons now wandered the temple with their families, some frolicking around this very room at the time under watchful eyes. And that's not all that had changed. Cynder peeked over to two of her friends nearby.

Ember stood next to Pyrus, watching some baby Fire Dragons playing around with a little ball. "They're so cute!" she said, smiling brightly at the infants.

Pyrus nodded, giving a warm smile of his own. "They are," he said, for some reason finding his face getting hot at the thought.

Ember pet one of the babies on the head lightly, then turned to Pyrus. "So, how is your mom doing?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.

"Oh, she's doing good," replied Pyrus, glad for the diversion. Why did the baby dragons they were watching make him get hot under the scales around Ember? Heck, why did just being around Ember do that? Not that it was unpleasant just… He just couldn't understand it. He just felt… Weird, around her, but a good kind of weird. "The therapy is really helping her a lot, though she worries a bit for the Naga back home. I keep telling her I'm sure Kage and Khione can take care of things while we're all here," he continued, thinking back to the Naga and his long time home of Serpent's Edge.

Ember nodded thoughtfully. "Well… I'm really glad you're here…" she replied with a bit of shyness, sneaking her way a little closer to him, rubbing against his side a little.

Pyrus blinked, his face once more getting hot… But he didn't fight it. He leaned back against her as well, though he had no idea why. Ok, maybe not _no_ idea, but he still didn't quite understand how he felt. And Delilah had said to spend as much time with Ember before that wacky Kitsune just disappeared to somewhere two days ago to… Wherever it was a dimension jumping Kitsune disappeared to. Knowing Delilah, she'd pop up when they least expected it.

Cynder smiled as she saw Pyrus lean in as Ember leaned against him. Ember looked her way for a moment and Cynder gave a wink and mouthed "go for it" in response. Honestly, by now the Black Dragoness was certain Pyrus was the _only_ dragon who couldn't see he and Ember were in love. Heck, even Ember's parents and Deadlock seemed to realize it, but hadn't yet said anything. Delilah and Sparx… Well they were betting on which of the two Fire Dragons would ask the other first.

Ember felt warmth spread through her cheeks as she looked back to Pyrus after Cynder's slight hint. She was right, Ember couldn't think of many better times to tell Pyrus before _something_ interrupted them and spoiled the moment… Again, probably Sparx. "Pyrus… Can I tell you something?" she asked in a meek little voice.

Pyrus blinked, looking back at her. "Of course, what is it?" he replied, showing a little confusion as she once again used that shy voice she spoke _only_ to him in.

Ember felt herself get even hotter under the scales but fought back the butterflies in her stomach. "When we're together I feel… Really good. I just feel so warm and fuzzy…" she admitted, feeling her face getting hotter as she spoke. "D-do you feel that way?"

Pyrus blinked, having not expected that. But when he thought about it… "Yeah… I think so… You're always there for me and I don't like being apart from you for long… You're right, it just feels really good when we're together…" he admitted, heat rising in his own face as well for reasons he was actually beginning to understand now.

Ember nodded slowly. "Yeah… Pyrus… Will you, if you don't mind that is… Will you… Maybe go on a date with me?" she asked quickly, cringing at the last part in preparation of rejection. Since having her crush on Spyro revealed to be one sided over a month ago and having her heart broken because of it, that was the single biggest roadblock to her asking Pyrus out. Even if she was reasonably sure he felt the same about her, a blow like that didn't just fade away into nothingness just like that.

To her surprise, Pyrus nuzzled her softly. "Sure…" replied the Naga Prince, surprising himself as much as Ember, his cheeks and hers getting _really_ hot now. "I'd love that…" he continued, giving a small smile and nuzzling her again, this time Ember returned it.

Cynder gave a smile at the scene. She felt happy for Ember. After having her heart shattered before, seeing her with someone who truly cared about her was wonderful. Cynder then turned at the sound of footsteps to see a sight even weeks later she found sad. Cyros walked up to her with a brown cloak covering her back to hide the stumps where her wings had once been. The wounds had sealed, but no one questioned why she didn't want her amputated wings to be shown to the world. "Good morning, Cyros," said Cynder, trying not to let her eyes fall on Cyros' back out of respect. Though she did notice the Ice Dragoness had her guitar with her, the magical jewel having been removed for the time being. Cynder didn't know if that was because the Guardians didn't trust her with it or if _Cyros_ didn't trust herself with it, either where possible.

"Hello, Cynder," replied the Ice Dragoness, seeming no mentally worse for the ware. "It's good to see you again."

Cynder nodded, giving a small smile. "Same here," she continued, then gave a worried look. "How are you doing?"

Cyros gave a sigh. "I don't know…" replied the Ice Dragoness, a bit of sorrow in her voice. "Losing my wings… I know I told mom and Pyrus it was worth it to have our family together again, and it really is, but…" she continued, taking a moment to regain her composure, still having too much pride to let herself break down in front of Cynder. "Not being able to fly is like… I can't even begin tell you what it's like…" she admitted, lowering her head in sorrow, struggling to keep from crying. "At least the therapy sessions are helping…" she admitted, a little embarrassed at mentioning she of all dragons had to take therapy.

Cynder gave a nervous look. "Yeah, I guess that's a good thing…" she replied. Cyros had taken counseling of her own accord when Deadlock had come to get her own. Both were benefiting well from it under an Earth Dragon named Dr. Galen, a well respected therapist. Deadlock had willingly had herself confined to a tower in the temple during her treatment, out of fear she might suffer a relapse and harm someone. Cynder could understand that. She also understood why Cyros would be embarrassed. While she'd reformed a lot, Cyros still had a bit of an ego at times. Cynder couldn't help thinking it was a natural Ice Dragon trait to be a bit egotistical. "Still, at least Cyril isn't writing you off to be Ice Guardian because of it," she added, trying to cheer Cyros up in any way she could. The loss of Cyros' wings had made it far more difficult for her to take the birthright that belonged to her as the sole surviving Ice Dragon from that Year of the Dragon. Even if the Guardians felt sorry for Cyros, not being able to fly was a large strike against her due to how much dragon fighting style required it. Still, her act of self-sacrifice had made them continue considering her because that _was_ a trait a Guardian needed to have.

"I know…" said Cyros, showing a bit of guilt in her tone. "I don't know if I should be glad… I know how much I gave up… But I still don't know if I deserve to be the Ice Guardian after all I've done… I still don't really forgive myself, you know?"

Cynder put a paw on Cyros' shoulder, giving her a sincere, kindly look. "Cyros, I know how that part feels. I felt like that for the longest time… I still feel like that sometimes. But just consider accepting it if they ask you, alright? I know it's hard, but if you let the opportunity go by just because of this, you may never forgive yourself for _that_."

Cyros nodded slowly. "I know… I'll think about it…" she said in a solemn, halfhearted tone.

Cynder decided to change the subject. "Well… Your brother finally has a girlfriend," she explained, pointing to Ember and Pyrus, who stood side by side, watching the baby dragons frolic and making sure they didn't get hurt, but occasionally seeking a small nuzzle here and there.

Cyros smirked. "About time," she stated, looking to her brother and Ember. "Took him long enough to figure out Ember loved him."

Cynder nodded. She then heard the small squeak of a baby dragon and blinked, looking down at Cyros' feet were a tiny little Electric Dragon jump energetically around Cyros' legs, much to Cynder's surprise. The infant was definitely female in her body structure, built similar to Ember only of course much tinier. She was a vibrant yellow in color with a pair of light blue horns that curled up behind her head, a row of small spines running down her back. Neither the horns nor the spines had grown in fully just yet and were simply little blue nubs. Her tail had a small point, but nothing to show what would grow for a natural weapon. Her wings were undeveloped at the moment, very small in proportion to her body like all newborn dragons, but Cynder could see the same light blue color making up the frames with the vibrant yellow making up the wing membranes. Cynder couldn't help but smile at the little one's face, which was very friendly looking and had a big smile on it. Her big eyes had blue irises and at present were staring right at Cynder cheerfully. The little infant stood next to Cyros' ankle, but was no taller than it.

"Uh, Cyros, look down…" said Cynder.

Cyros blinked, peeking down at her legs before giving a sigh as she saw the infant. "Gosh darn it! I thought I left you with the Guardians while I went to talk to Cynder!"

Cynder cocked her head in confusion at the fact Cyros actually identified the baby. "Cyros… Did you adopt a baby?" she asked in a surprised tone, having never imagined _that_ from Cyros of all dragons.

Cyros chuckled and shook her head, a smile on her face as she reached down to reassure the little dragoness she wasn't mad with her. "Nah. Her parents where killed in Empress Tyrania's attack on the Dragon Temple, so the Guardians were watching her egg since no one had adopted her yet," Cyros recounted, giving a rather somber look, then got a bit of a smile as the baby made a funny face to cheer her up. "Little scamp saw me the moment she hatched and now she won't leave me alone," she said, giving a real smile as the baby stretched to nuzzle her. "She's like a cat, you think you've gotten away from her and boom! She's right in front of you… Somehow…" she said, a hint of confusion in her voice. "So I decided to just let her follow me around; she's not hurting anyone… And I guess she is kind of cute…"

Cynder found this smile contagious and smiled in return. Seeing Cyros smile like this felt good. It was quite honestly the happiest she'd seen her… Well, ever. She guessed having someone who didn't know or care she was missing her wings keeping her company was probably a bit of a relief to the poor Dragoness. Cynder looked down at the little baby. "She is adorable. What's her name?"

"Volt," explained Cyros, lifting her head so the child could see Cynder. Little Volt waved cheerfully with a happy cry, unable to talk just yet.

Cynder chuckled at the cheerful little child. "Glad to meet you, Volt."

Cyros laughed as Volt bounced around excitably at Cynder's reply. "Yeah, she likes to make everyone around her as happy as she can… Comes in handy when you've got as much to cry about as me," she stated, petting little Volt on the head. "Anyway, how about you? When's your egg due to hatch?"

"Today," replied Cynder, smiling down at her egg. "It's began to scratch at the shell, Volteer said that means it will probably hatch some time today."

Cyros put her head to the little egg, hearing tiny scrapes from inside. "Yeah, I can hear it…"

Spyro suddenly dashed into the room, coming to a stop with Sparx on his heels. "Demi told me! Is the egg really going to hatch today?" he asked, excitement clear in his voice and tone as he panted from running all the way here.

Cynder nodded. "Yeah, it should," she replied, nuzzling her excited mate as Demi joined them. "Spyro, this is Volt. She's with Cyros" she said, pointing to the tiny Electric Dragoness to try and get Spyro to calm down some.

Spyro blinked, looking down at Volt, who greeted him just about the same way she'd greeted Cynder, with a cheerful cry and a wave. Likewise, Spyro couldn't help giving a small chuckle. "Why hello there," he said, watching the little infant hop about, looking at everyone excitably.

Sparx looked at Cyros. "You… You got a kid? How did-"

"She's not my kid, just a little orphan who's following me around like a baby duckling," said Cyros in response before smiling down at the child and petting her little head lightly. "Long story… And if you make one quip about me being a bad guy, I'm going to hurt you. Cynder has already told me how you badmouthed her over it. And _don't_ say one word about my wings, got it?"

"Yikes! I wasn't going to!" replied Sparx, flying back in surprise. He then looked to Cynder. "So I'm finally gonna be an uncle, right?"

Cynder nodded. "Yes, Sparx, you will."

Demi smiled, looking to Cyros and little Volt as Terrador joined them, wearing an ornate golden necklace with an earthy green colored jewel. This was the symbol of a Dragon Elder, the position Terrador now occupied with Demi his successor in place. "The birth of your first child is a wonderful thing, young dragons," said the old Earth Dragon with a smile to Spyro and Cynder. "And remember, you've most certainly earned the this."

Spyro and Cynder both gave a happy nod in response. "We know, Terrador," said Spyro in a happy tone with a smile. "It really means a lot to us that-"

Spyro was interrupted as a swirling blue portal burst open a few feet away from Ember and Pyrus, causing everyone to jump in surprise. That surprise quickly faded as a certain five tailed fox walked through the portal seconds later. A new surprise came from the fact she had a pink party hat on her head and was covered in multicolored confetti for some reason. "Hello everyone," she stated, her tone not denoting anything odd about her entrance.

"See, told you she was from another dimension," said Sparx in a smug tone with his arms crossed.

Cynder blinked. "I… I guess you did…" she stated, surprise clear in her voice. "She really is isn't she?" she said, just staring in shock.

"Hi…" said Pyrus a little startled. "How was the… Multiverse wandering?"

"Good, just came from a three day party celebrating the defeat of the embodiment of disharmony," explained Delilah, once more in a really causal tone. "My best friend throws the _best_ parties, but three days straight may have been a bit muc-" she started, before someone on the other side of the portal tugged one of her tails lightly. "Hang on a second," she said, poking her head back through the vortex. "Yeah?… Oh, I'm going to watch my friend's egg hatch…" she explained, the group on this side of the portal only hearing her half of the conversation. She poked her head out and looked over her shoulder. "It is hatching today, right?"

"Yeah… It should be," replied Spyro, watching the occurrence with wide-eyes like everyone else except for Sparx.

Delilah nodded, poking her head back through the portal. "So yeah, it's hatching today and I need to be there… Oh, they're dragons… No, not like your world's, ones in this world are much smaller and nicer… No, I don't think so. I doubt they want a Pegasus from another universe to be there to watch it happen… No, no need to be sorry, it's just a private matter with family and friends; you didn't know… Huh? What?… Oh, I don't know, let me ask," she continued, pulling her head back through the portal and looking to Spyro and Cynder. "Do you mind going to my friends' universe when the baby is old enough and having a party to celebrate? My best friend really wants to throw one for you… Well, she likes throwing parties for everything, but birthdays are important to her. It'll be really fun! And it's safe, I promise! They already defeated the main villain for this year!"

Cynder blinked in confusion, looking to Spyro. "Uh… Should we?"

"I say we should," said Sparx, flying up next to them. "Come on! How often are we going to have a party thrown for us in another universe?"

Spyro gave it some thought, then nodded with an amused smile. "He has a point… And besides, after hearing Delilah talk about that world all the time, I would like to see it myself."

Cynder looked to Delilah. "Sure, we'd love to, but only when the baby is old enough."

Delilah nodded, poking her head back through the portal. "Yeah, they'd love to, when it gets big enough… Yeah, like always; no cupcakes, thanks for asking, Pinkie… Alright, see you gals later!" she called, pulling out and finally closing the portal. "Sorry about that," she said, walking over. "Friendship is a big thing over there."

"It's fine," said Ember, walking over to Delilah. They were used to Delilah… Well, doing things no one except her really understood. "Glad to see you again."

"I'm glad to you see you all too," replied the Kitsune simply as she shook off the confetti. "So, when should that little one hatch?" she asked, smiling… Then looking down as Volt gave her a happy little cry of greeting. "Aww, hi there! Aren't you adorable?" she gushed, looking down at Volt and giving her undivided attention to the infant. "Who's a cute little baby dragon? You are! Yes, you are!" she continued, causing little Volt to laugh happily.

That got a few chuckles from the surrounding dragons. "That's Volt," explained Cynder, unable to keep a straight face with the Kitsune's gushing over the tiny dragoness like she was and making funny faces for her.

"So, Demi, how's your father doing?" asked Spyro, looking to the new Earth Guardian-in-training.

"Oh, he's doing really well," said Demi in her default shy tone, as Delilah continued fooling around with Volt behind her. "He and the others have set up their village near the mountains, they've settled in and started farming and everything. Maybe you can visit them soon."

Spyro nodded with a smile. "That'd be great," he said, as Delilah transformed into various things to get Volt to laugh, presently making funny faces as a pink, fluffy haired pony with a trio of balloons on her flank, but always keeping her five tails, which she seemed incapable of changing.

Cynder nodded in agreement… Then heard a tiny crack. "Huh?" she asked, looking down as the top of the black egg began to crack. "Everyone! It's hatching!" she called, drawing everyone's attention, and Cyril and Volteer from the adjoining room. Unlike Terrador, they'd yet to be promoted to a Dragon Elder and lacked an ornate necklace signifying such. They wouldn't until they'd picked a successor from this new batch of dragons, or Cyril chose Cyros, if he did.

Volteer looked down at Volt as Delilah returned to her normal form. "Oh, there you are…" he muttered, looking to Cyros about to say something.

"No apologies necessary, I know what she's like," replied Cyros quickly, as if used to this situation. "No worries, let's just watch the egg hatch, ok?"

The room grew pretty much completely silent outside of little Volt trying to squeeze past the much larger dragons to get a view, at which point Cyros picked her up and set her on her back so she could see. The cracks spread until a little black snout poked out of the egg shell with a tiny squeak. Spyro and Cynder's hearts raced as the shell finally gave way to reveal the newborn inside. The infant was black scaled, but had a dark blue underbelly as opposed to Cynder's red. It's body shape was clearly female, more like Cynder's only much smaller and, like she had at that age, a much shorter neck. Cynder noticed the baby had similar markings to her own on her hips and head, indicating they were indeed natural markings, though the child's were too light to make out clearly at present. She had four horns on her head, two on top coming out the back of her head and one at each side of her jaw, which were white like Cynder's own, like Volt's were just little nubs at this young age, as where the white spikes down her back. The baby's undeveloped wings were tiny like Volt's, having a black frame with dark blue membranes. She had a very tiny barb extending from her tail tip, which had yet to fully grow into anything resembling a weapon. Her face was streamlined and had a tiny curve to the upper lip like Cynder's, but her face seemed overall more smooth in shape.

The child yawned cutely and looked around with big, turquoise eyes at the big dragons surrounding her. Cynder instantly nuzzled her child, wasting no time welcoming her baby into the world. "Hello, little one… We've waited so long for you to get here," she whispered, getting the baby to give a happy cry before Spyro joined in nuzzling the child. Both had happy tears in their eyes at seeing the precious child who they'd worked so hard to save finally hatch.

Spyro smiled as the child's tiny head nuzzled his snout. "That's right, we went through a lot to make sure you hatched alright… Now you're here," he said, unable to avoid crying with joy at the sight of his baby, Cynder joining him.

Sparx flew down, smiling at his "niece". "So… What are we naming her?"

Cynder and Spyro smiled simultaneously. "Nova," they both answered at the same time.

Little Nova looked at Sparx, sniffing him and then giving a happy squeak. "Hey there, I'm your uncle Sparx," he replied, smiling and softly petting the baby's snout. Despite being a _baby_ dragon, she was still a good bit bigger than him. He looked over his shoulder to say something, only see Volt suddenly standing next to him, staring cutely at Nova. Sparx let out a startled scream and flew back in surprise. "When did you- How did you- You weren't there two seconds ago!" he exclaimed, startled by Volt pretty much appearing out of nowhere.

"Yeah, she does that… All the time…" said Cyros with a confused, but slightly entertained tone. With everyone concentrating on Nova, no one had seen how Volt had gotten there and Cyros hadn't felt Volt leave her back at all. "I have no idea how, but she does it."

Sparx sighed, then looked to Delilah. "Let me guess, you've seen this before?"

Delilah nodded. "Yep, my best friend does it all the time."

"Why am I not surprised?" said Sparx with a sigh.

Volt walked over to Nova, who was only a little smaller than her by virtue of her more petite body type. The two newborns started playing soon enough, tumbling over each other with cute, playful cries. Cynder smiled with Spyro as Delilah went into another fit of gushing over how adorable the babies were. "Looks like Nova has already made a friend…" said Cynder, smiling brightly with joy in her eyes at watching her daughter already having a friend only mere seconds after hatching, using her paw to make sure the two children didn't fall off the pedestal in their playing. She couldn't help getting a bigger smile as she caught a smile forming on Cyros' face out of the corner of her eye.

Spyro nodded softly, giving a smile at this. "A good a way as any to be born."

As the two infants tired out quickly, Cynder pulled Nova close to her and Spyro, the two nuzzling their newborn lovingly. Little Nova gave a contented sigh and cuddled close to them.

"Maybe it's because I just came from a dimension where spontaneously bursting into song is normal, but this moment could use some music, don't you think?" asked Delilah, smiling as she watched everything transpire.

Sparx blinked. "There are worlds like that?"

Delilah nodded. "Yeah… Why does that surprise you? We've had like eight musical numbers in this story!"

"Yeah, but most of them were from the ice princess over there," said Sparx, pointing that out. "Wait… How did you know how many there were?"

Cyros took her guitar out. "Well I did write a little something last night… I guess I could play it if you want me too," she replied, though gave Sparx an angry glare for his "ice princess" comment.

Cynder hugged Nova close to her and Spyro so the infant would feel safe.. "Of course, Cyros, go ahead."

Cyros cleared her throat and slowly began to play lightly, a calm soothing melody.

"_Darkness had fallen over all_

_Everything had been taken from me_

_A way out I could never see_

_And into darkness I began to fall…_

_The darkness took me as its pawn_

_It had it's hold on my heart_

_I was lost and knew not where to start_

_I refused to wake up at the new dawn…_

_All hope had been taken from my sight_

_I didn't know what could be done_

_I believed the darkness had won_

_I saw no reason to stand and fight_

_The darkness used me as its pawn_

_It had it's hold on my heart_

_I felt I was beaten from the start_

_I kept sleeping through the new dawn…_

_But someone caught me by the hand_

_They pulled me out of the darkness' embrace_

_They freed me out of my own disgrace_

_They lifted me up and helped me stand_

_The darkness used me as its pawn_

_It had it's hold on my heart_

_Alone I couldn't find where to start_

_I refused to look at the new dawn…_

_I didn't think anyone else cared anymore_

_But I've seen the error of my ways_

_And now the light is here to stay_

_Things will be better than ever before._

_The darkness used me as its pawn_

_It had it's hold on my heart_

_But with help, I know where to start_

_I start to awake to the new dawn…_

_I have a long way to go, that much is true_

_For my sins I must still atone_

_But I no longer have to do it alone_

_My friends will help me start anew_

_The darkness used me as its pawn_

_It had it's hold on my heart_

_But I've been given a new start_

_I now peek at the new dawn…_

_The darkness used me as its pawn_

_It had it's hold on my heart_

_But never again will it have its start_

_Now I can't wait for a new dawn…"_ sung Cyros, her voice soothing and clear as she let Volt cuddle up to her.

Cynder smiled as she listened to Cyros' melody, her and Spyro letting their adopted daughter curl up next to them, slowly but surely falling asleep. "… I can't wait either…" whispered Cynder, smiling down at her child.

* * *

Ignitus stood, looking down at the stand before him as, in a burst of light, a new book took form before him, this one black with blue highlights running through it. He opened it to reveal a picture of Nova's hatching surrounded by all those who were present. Ignitus gave a small smile looking down at the picture of his newborn granddaughter. "Another book is written as a new life dawns," he said, watching as the magic that had created this book continued to write words on the first page around the picture. "And so little Nova's first moments are spent surrounded by her loving family and new friends."

Ignitus leafed through the book, only a few pictures or writing showing that which _may _lay ahead for the young Black Dragoness. "I see bits of your future already forming, young one… But even these things are not carved in stone and you can rewrite them if you so choose," he stated, smiling lightly. "That's the wonderful thing about seeing a new dawn… The day that follows is always what we make of it…"

"And I'm sure the dawn of Nova's life is the herald of a wonderful day…" said Ignitus. "And I can't wait to see that day take shape…" he said, turning back to the first page and watching the letters continue to form on the blank first pages of the book around the picture of the newborn Nova and her loving family and friends…

* * *

And we're done! My most popular fanfic thus far, and probably my longest, is now complete. I kind of wanted Deadlock and Drake to show up, but I figured the dragons letting Apes and the former Big Bad with the children would be unrealistic and I had no where to fit in Ember's family here, but they're around somewhere. Thanks to everyone for all the support and reviews! Thanks to everyone who faved and alerted this story! It means a lot! This fic wouldn't have been half as good without you guys! It's been a long time since we first began, and we're finally finished...with THIS story.

Hopefully, if all goes as planned, the trailer for the sequel will be up at the same time this chapter is posted. It'll be called **"The Legend Of Spyro: The Falling Darkness"**, and I'll be updating that with the new chapters as I make them, for now it'll just be a trailer to give you something to watch so you can keep updated. Anyway, thanks to everyone once again! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!


End file.
